Emmett and I
by Everybody-knows55
Summary: A first person account of someone lucky enough to have Emmett Cullen fall irrevocably in love with them. Rosalie Hale does not exist, so Emmett needs someone. That extraordinarily lucky person is Katherine Taylor.
1. First

**A/N: Well, there is more to be written on the Harry Potter fic, and I have actually written it, I'm just in too lethargic a mood to write 10,000 or so words onto my computer. So, I was sitting here, googling the New Moon movie, and this literally struck me like, I don't know, a really good right hook. It explains very much my absolutely ridiculous feelings for Emmett Cullen, who is pretty much my embodiment of perfection. If i could be, I would be this story's protagonist. Unfortunately, I'm not. I just wish. Just to let you know, Rosalie Hale does not exist in this story, I always begrudge her very existence, but in MY story, she has never been there, and she never will. Hehe, Emmett is all mine now. Also, this is sort of a taster chapter I suppose, I may continue it just in my head, for my own pleasure, or, if enough people like, I'll write some more. So let me know, please?**

**Disclaimer: If Emmett were mine, I would not be sitting here writing this, most definitely. **

Whoa. That was my first thought. My second thought was, dropping knives on your toes can sometimes be a good thing.

"So, Miss Taylor, it was a paring knife you dropped on your foot, am I correct?" Dr. Cullen, without a doubt the yummiest physician in the world, asked me.

"Uh, I think, perhaps, yeah, maybe, hmm." Not the most eloquent sentence that I'd ever muttered, I must admit, but if you'd been there, you'd understand.

Dr. Cullen smiled at me kindly, and touched my foot gently. It bloody hurt.

"Ouch" I winced, and the 'I'm a brave person facade' I'd been putting on melted.

"You'll need stitches, and to keep the weight off your foot for a little while, I'm afraid. May I enquire as to how your toes almost came to be severed by a knife?"

Embarrassing story alert. "Uh, well, I was using it, and then the radio made me jump, and the knife landed blade down, on my foot."

Yes, the radio made me jump, that was it. Absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I'd just received a text from Alex Phillips, asking if I wanted to go out for coffee sometime, and jumped up and down squealing like a hysterical teenager. Nothing at all.

Dr. Cullen smiled again (Alex who? Why the hell would I ever want to look at another male face ever again when this guy was my doctor?) and I blushed.

The curtain around my cubicle was pulled back quite abruptly and my heart near enough stopped. Actually, yes, my heart stopped for at least three whole seconds. I scratch the preceding statement about never wanting to see another male face ever again. Dr. Cullen was angelic, no doubt about it, but, he, he, words just couldn't describe.

The dark haired boy's face screwed up, as if in physical pain. I thought maybe he was just squeamish, didn't like the sight of blood, and when he looked into my eyes all the blood in my body rushed to my face, and the pained expression was heightened.

"Emmett?"

So that was the boy's name. Emmett. It fitted him perfectly. I wished Dr. Cullen would go and tend to some other poor person's needs and leave me with Emmett. Or, on second thoughts, I wished that the world would just end now, whilst I was living this perfect bliss.

"Emmett?" Dr. Cullen repeated. "Did you want something?"

"Er, yeah, Carlisle, I was just...never mind." Emmett's voice had the same American accent that Carlisle's did. I imagined them to be brothers.

"Miss Taylor, I'll be back in a little while to check up on that foot. You just stay put, you'll be out of here in no time"

"Okay, doctor." Pathetically shaky voice, but who could blame me when the two most beautiful people on the entire planet, in the entire universe, were standing at the end of my hospital bed.

"Emmett, come along, Miss Taylor doesn't need a bodyguard" Dr. Cullen said, since he'd turned to leave, but Emmett had stayed stock still.

"What's Miss Taylor's name?" Emmett asked, his low voice sending actual shivers down my spine. It was almost a growl practically. Whatever it was, it was sexy as hell.

Silence.

I think I'd actually forgotten how to speak, because _he _was speaking to me.

Dr. Cullen gestured towards the board above my bed, the one with my name on. "It's Katherine, isn't it Miss Taylor?"

A gurgling sort of noise was emitted from my throat, my attempt to tell these beautiful people that nobody but my grandmother called me Katherine, it was Kate.

My breathing became laboured again as I realised that Emmett was having just as hard a time dragging his eyes away from me, as I was from him. I couldn't see why. Inexplicably beautiful person vs. Ordinary, sort of plain looking English girl. No competition.

It actually hurt when he turned away, to follow Dr. Cullen, and the pain compelled me to speak.

"Kate"

The random disembodied word was enough to make him turn back around.

"Sorry?" he asked, "What did you say?"

He was talking directly again to me, and it was too much for me. So much that the disembodied comment stayed that way.

"Oh." His eyes lit up as he made the connection. "Not Katherine, Kate, right?"

I nodded, and it seemed to take up all the energy that I had in my body, despite the fact that all that hurt was my foot.

"See you around, Kate"

I hoped, really hoped that he meant that. In fact, I hoped so much that I was pretty much willing to drop another knife on my other foot in order to stay in this place a little bit longer.

"Don't"

A different voice, not Emmett's. Smoother, softer. Attractive, just not as attractive.

"What's up, Edward?"

What the hell? Where were all these stunning people materialising from? The newcomer, this Edward, ignored Emmett's question, and smiled at me, "Believe me, I wouldn't. At least, no more knives. No more blood. I'd try a compound fracture, that'll keep you in here for a while"

"I don't know what you're talking about?" I huffed, irritated by the fact that Emmett's attention had now turned to this bronze haired beauty, and away from me. And also because it must have been so obvious in my face what I wanted to do. Edward smiled knowingly, and took Emmett by the arm.

"Goodbye, Kate" Edward said, and I really, truly wanted to rip his heart from his chest for taking Emmett away from me.

I lay back a little, and blocked out all the sounds that I could, in order to try and hear the ensuing conversation between Emmett and Edward. But, try as I might, and even with my fairly good hearing, the only word I caught was my name.

I'd been 'in love' before. There was Liam Carter, when I was in nursery school, and probably a new one every year, up to Alex Phillips. But this wasn't love. This was Fate, Destiny, Unavoidable, all those big words that need capitalizing and aren't down to human choice, but some gravity in the universe, that is beyond control.

Emmett.


	2. Second

**A/N: Oh gosh, I thought I'd continue, well at least one more chapter, because I wanted to. So, here it is. I'm afraid there's not actually all that much Kate/Emmett action, but it's more of a descriptive chapter, to set the scene for the next few. **

**Disclaimer: I'm just not thta good, I'm afraid.  
**

Silly, silly Kate. Why did I listen to that Edward guy and not drop another knife on my foot? I mean, other than the fact that none of the hospital staff were about to hand me a big sharp knife to run amok with. Because I was entirely certain that I'd seen the last of Emmett Cullen, and I wasn't exactly sure how to give myself a compound fracture.

"So, kiddo," my step-dad, Nick, asked as he drove me home from the hospital later on that day, "How's the foot?"

"Fine" I replied in my most surly voice. I wasn't irritated at him, I was irritated at myself. I definitely needed to Google 'compound fracture' as soon as I got home.

"Could you move my laptop downstairs, please?" I demanded, as soon as I got through the door. Emmett was definitely someone who would have Facebook; at least, if his picture didn't melt the Internet server with its serious gorgeousness, and with an entirely unusual name like Emmett, I was sure to find him in no time at all. Thirty minutes later, I had failed spectacularly. No Emmett and no Edward. I'd tried Cullen, and come up with about 300,000 different people, and just couldn't be bothered in the end. So, I ended up just updating my profile in general, and telling the entire world how careless I was around sharp objects.

The doorbell rang at about four thirty.

"I've got it!" My mother chirped, waltzing from the kitchen to the front door.

I have no idea why I'd expected it to be Emmett; clearly my painkillers were having an adverse effect on my mental capacity. Which meant that I was seriously disappointed when it was not him that walked through the living room door.

"Hi"

Alex Phillips was standing in the middle of my living room. Why was Alex Phillips standing in the middle of my living room?

"Oh, hey" I replied, after I'd pondered that very question and not come up with anything vaguely sensible. "Why are you here?" I asked, sounding rude, without meaning to. Twenty four hours ago I would have sold my soul to have this very guy standing in my house, but now, for some inexplicable reason, I didn't particularly want him to be here.

Oh, who am I kidding?

It was a completely explicable reason, going by the name of Emmett.

"I saw your Facebook status" he explained, pointing towards the laptop on the coffee table, "And I wanted to see how your foot was doing."

How entirely sweet!

"Alex, really there was no need!" I exclaimed, despite the fact that it was actually quite nice to have the most gorgeous guy in my school turn up at my house, just to see how my injured foot was doing. Although, the most gorgeous guy in school really had nothing on the most beautiful guy on the planet, I realised whilst looking at him. Firstly, Alex was blonde and Emmett had shown me that dark hair was definitely the way to go. And, Alex had blue eyes, and thanks to Emmett I now knew that dark eyes were infinitely sexier.

"Kate?" Alex asked, waving a hand in front of my face, which dragged me from the lovely fantasy world of Emmett. "Kate, are you okay?"

"Erm, no" I replied, which was a complete lie; "Actually, I'm in a bit of pain. And since I can't take any more painkillers for a while, I'd probably better have a nap."

Or, anything else that would get rid of Alex Phillips from my living room, and leave me to my daydreaming.

"Oh, yeah, sure" he replied, waving at me as he stepped backwards out of the room, "See you in September."

Although my need for a nap had been fabricated, I soon found my eyes flickering shut, and I fell into a fitful, restless sleep.

"Miss Taylor?"

What? Nobody called me Miss Taylor. Nobody but the indescribably wonderful new Dr. Cullen. But Dr Carlisle Cullen was not stood in my house.

Was he?

"Mmm?" I mumbled, finding out that consciousness wasn't pleasant.

"Miss Taylor, it's Dr. Cullen. Your mother and step-father called me over to take a look at you. I think that they were quite disturbed by your erratic sleep".

Oh, god. Dr. Cullen was in my house after all. At least, there was no Emmett, right?

"Kate, you okay?"

Kill me now.

I opened my eyes, to find Dr. Cullen leaning over me, stethoscope in hand, and a kind smile on his face. And not only was Emmett stood in my living room (making it look ridiculously small) but so was Edward, and numerous other people, all possessing the same inexpressible magnificence as Edward, Carlisle and Emmett. And, to my absolute horror, quite a few of these people were female. Females with alabaster skin, wide eyes and beautiful hair. If I hadn't already been feeling awful, now would have been the time to start feeling that way.

"Who are...what's going...mom?" Apparently one of my symptoms was the inability to form a coherent sentence.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, we called Dr. Cullen out because you were scaring me and Nick with your sleep, and he just bought his family. Is that okay?"

No, it was most certainly not okay, because I looked a mess. I mean, there was no way I could even begin to measure up to any of these people when dressed up in my best clothes and made up to perfection, let alone when feeling like absolute rubbish. But I didn't tell my mom that it was the worst idea I'd heard in all my seventeen years, and concentrated on keeping my breath regular.

"You're going to be fine, Kate." It was the first time that Dr. Cullen had ever called me anything other than Miss Taylor, and it was nice. "I think maybe you didn't need such a high dose of medication as the nurse gave you, and it's resulted in some unwelcome side effects."

Stupid, stupid nurse. Although, it did mean that I was seeing Emmett again, albeit with the rest of his beautiful family. So maybe the nurse had done me a favour.

"Thank you so very much, doctor," my mother gushed, whilst Nick looked at Dr. Cullen's family with wide eyes, especially the women, "She scared us quite a bit."

"Not at all," Dr. Cullen replied, his smile widening, "I'm just glad to have been of assistance."

"Sorry, doctor," I interrupted, "But who are all these people?"

My mother gave me a shocked sort of look, like 'Kate, how could you be so forward?' but to my absolute delight, I only provoked smiles from them all.

"Carlisle's quite the philanthropist" Edward, the one I'd already met, commented, "We're all adopted. Except Esme, of course, she's his wife"

"Alice" A little pixie looking girl, who looked no more than about ten, piped up, waving a perfectly formed hand. I say her hand was perfectly formed, when in truth every single feature of her body was exquisite; she looked like a doll come to life.

"I'm Renesmee." Irritatingly, little Renesmee had the most wonderful voice (except for one person) I'd ever heard, the type of voice that's suited to singing of all types, soothing and calm and, well, generally fantastic. I was hating these people more and more by the second.

"Jasper." This word came from a boy who looked unlike both Edward and Emmett, and who was holding Alice's hand in a way that did not suggest adopted brother and sister.

"You know me" Edward said, his arm around the waist of a striking girl, "And this is Isabella." The one named Isabella scowled in a way that would have made anyone else look less attractive.

"Anybody who wants to keep their head firmly attached to their shoulders calls me Bella" Bella added, digging Edward in the ribs.

"My name is Esme" Carlisle's wife said, and in addition to good looks this woman radiated grace in a measure that scared me as much as it made me jealous.

And that left just one person. Other than the doctor himself.

"Emmett."

What was it about his voice that melted my spine? The fact that it was so low? Or slightly rough? I didn't bother to try to work it out; I just wanted him to keep speaking.

"It's very nice to meet you all" my mom said, motioning for them to sit down. They all remained standing.

"We really should be off" Edward, who seemed the elected spokesperson for the evening, said. He glanced sharply at Alice, and then Emmett, and there seemed to be a mental battle of wills.

"Thank you again, Dr. Cullen. And it was so nice to meet you all" Nick said, as the family left the room, seemingly floating.

Emmett was the last to leave, and I knew that, even if I had to break one of my legs, or both of them, I'd see him again.


	3. Third

**A/N: Not that I seem to be adhering to any of the rules of Stephanie Myers' world, I was worried as to whether or not Alice's Porsche was a Cabriolet or not. I know it's definitely a Turbo, but Cabriolet? If you happen to know, please tell me. Incidentally, I am almost as in love with that Porsche in speed yellow as I am with Emmett Cullen. Check it out, you'll see what I mean. And, notice I say almost, please people. Oh, and back to, you know, the writing, ENJOY.**

"It's been ages since I last slept on the sofa" I commented, as my mom tucked my duvet beneath my chin and ruffled my hair.

"It's been a long time since you couldn't get up the stairs" she replied, switching out the light, and leaving me all alone in the dark. I was still tired out from my rather exciting day, so I only spent a few minutes devising ways to land myself back in hospital before I fell asleep.

Needless to say, I dreamt of Emmett Cullen. Of his indescribable beauty, although, in all truthfulness, it was a little more than beauty. Esme, Bella, Alice, Renesmee, even Carlisle, Edward and Jasper, they were all beautiful. With Emmett, it was something more. Animal magnetism, I think. So excuse me if I don't go into the exact nature of those dreams.

I slept through the night, so Dr. Cullen's modification of my medication was obviously effective, though I woke up ridiculously early the next morning. I spent most of the early hours trying to work out all the weird relationships within the Cullen family, and perhaps more importantly, how old they all were. Carlisle had clearly been through university, and he was married. He looked like he could still be twenty-one, only just old enough to drink in America, but clearly he couldn't be. And, all his kids could feasibly be the same age, except maybe Alice and Renesmee. Speaking of Alice, what on Earth was going on between her and Jasper? And Edward and Bella, for that matter.

Which only left, "Emmett and Renesmee."

It seemed logical. And it hurt in a way that you'd never be able to believe. I said the names out loud again. I hated to admit it, but they sounded good together. And I'm ashamed to say that at that point I seriously did consider taking the very same paring knife that had caused Emmett and I to meet in the first place, and slitting my wrists. In fact, I was steeling myself to hobble to the kitchen when the screech of brakes scared me back into a sitting position on the sofa. And then, Edward and Alice Cullen were in my living room, and I wasn't entirely sure how they had gotten into my locked house.

"Good morning, Kate" Edward greeted, whilst Alice appraised me. It was at this point that it dawned on me that I was still wearing my pyjamas.

"Morning Edward, Alice" I replied, hoping that the astonishment I was feeling at that moment in time couldn't be heard in my voice. "It's quite early" I added, leaving the question, 'So why the hell are you in my house?' as merely implied.

"Carlisle asked us to swing by and check up on you, since he couldn't himself" Alice explained and something about her story didn't ring true, mainly the fact that it was eight thirty in the morning.

"Did you sleep well?" Edward asked kindly, smiling. I forced myself not to blush, as I recalled some of the more X-rated scenes from my dreams the night before. Edward glanced sideways at Alice, who made an expression half way between a grimace and a grin.

"Who's the elder?" I asked suddenly, and without any further explanation, Edward replied.

"Emmett is older than me. He's 17"

In my absolute ecstasy that Emmett was the same age as me, I forgot entirely about Renesmee, and I didn't register that Edward hasn't asked for clarification; he'd known that I was talking about Emmett.

"Well, as long as you're alright?" Alice chirped, looking longingly through the window, "We'd best be leaving."

I followed her gaze, until my eyes hit the yellow Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet sitting in front of my house.

"You have got to be kidding me" I breathed, my hands reaching towards the window, my eyes full of lust. "Is that" I gulped, "What I think it is?"

"Depends what you think it is" Alice giggled, flicking her car keys between her hands with deft actions.

So, on top of the fact that their brother was the most perfect human being to ever grace the face of the planet, these people also owned my dream car? Fine, if the Cosmos wanted to be a bitch like that, I'd just have to start playing dirty.

"So" I probed, "Will I see you at school in September?"

"We'll see" Edward replied cryptically.

Why was everything about these people so ambiguous? Whatever happened to a good old-fashioned straight answer of 'yes' or 'no'? What does 'we'll see' even mean?

"We might see you around" Alice added, and I laughed. It might have been easy for the Cullens to avoid people in the massive place that was America, but in Whitby, Yorkshire? No chance.

"See you soon" I promised, watching them leave.

I thought I heard a sigh of relief, but then decided that I was hearing things. But I did hear Emmett's name, of that I was absolutely certain.

It was only after I'd watched them get into the work of beauty that was the Porsche that I realized what they'd interrupted. Somehow, slitting my wrists didn't seem such a good idea any more.

That opinion was only enhanced mid-afternoon, when I had a visitor. Emmett Cullen. My heart skipped a beat again as he ducked under the frame of my living room door and his eyes met mine.

"Emmett?" I said doubtfully, as if I'd fallen asleep unwittingly and was now having a good dream.

"Hi Kate" he replied, and I wondered where on Earth he got clothes, and more specifically, that hoodie, big enough to fit him. "Alice mentioned that you liked her car. I thought I'd take you out for a spin."

About a gazillion thoughts exploded in my head at once. One: My god, close quarters with Emmett Cullen. Two: Eek, a Porsche! Three: There is no way that Emmett's going to fit into a Porsche. Four: How am I supposed to get into a Porsche with a bandaged foot? Five: There's no way that my mom's going to let me get into a Porsche with Emmett Cullen. Six: I'm alone, with Emmett Cullen!

"What are you doing?" I asked, as Emmett retrieved a pen and paper from inside the pockets of his jeans.

"Letting your parents know that I'm taking you" he replied, leaving the paper on top of the television.

"Uh, Emmett? Please could we take a rain check on that Porsche ride please? I can't really get out of the house at the moment."

The growl that came out of Emmett's throat was exhilarating, to say the least. "Wanna bet?" he asked playfully, and in a movement impossibly fast for somebody of his size, he'd crossed the room and scooped me up in his arms like I weighed no more than a bag of sugar.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, my heart racing at a million miles a minute, "You can't just kidnap me!"

Emmett grinned at me wolfishly, and taunted me, "Try and stop me if you can."

Although I had every intention of letting Emmett kidnap me I thought perhaps I'd play along. I poked his chest, as though in protest, and immediately regretted it. "Jesus!" I yelped, shoving my finger in my mouth and sucking on it. "Jesus" I repeated, my finger still in my mouth. "Are you wearing a stab proof vest under there or something?"

Emmett smiled amusedly, and asked, "What makes you say that?"

I feigned a dumb expression. "Oh, I don't know" I replied, "Perhaps the fact that I think I just broke my finger?"

When Emmett took my finger from my mouth, I gasped. He checked my finger out rapidly, and then let it drop. "It's not broken" he said assuredly, and then he smiled that heart-breaking grin of his. "Sorry, I should have warned you."

Warned me about what exactly? That he was going to kidnap me? Or maybe that his chest was as hard as granite? Or, just maybe, that his skin was icy cold? But I wouldn't let that perturb me. In fact, I decided to use it to my advantage. "Could I borrow your hand again for a minute, please?" I asked nicely, and before he gave a reply, I reached out and took his left hand, closing it tightly around the index finger of my right hand. "That's better" I sighed, Emmett's fist having the same effect as an ice pack, or a pack of frozen peas.

It seemed to take ages for Emmett to reach the car, such a magnificent car.

"You have to understand that Alice will kill us both if anything happens to this car. She'll probably be kind to you, shoot you maybe, but me, well, she'll rip me to shreds and burn the pieces."

It made me laugh to think of tiny Alice, who couldn't even have been five feet tall, trying to rip Emmett, who had to be pushing six and a half feet, to shreds. "Well, for your sake, let's try not to total it, shall we?" As if I'd ever try to hurt that car, I'd have to be on crack.

I noticed that while Emmett made a great fuss out of my seat belt, he slipped into the driver's seat, turned the ignition, released the handbrake, and zoomed off, no seatbelt whatsoever.


	4. Fourth

**A/N: What can I say? The writing bug has apparently bitten me. More Emmett and Kate, and them together this time! Finally. So, read, review, hate it if you really must, but I'll appreciate more if you love it. It'll probably help if you feel the same way about Emmett Cullen as I do, but we can't all be blessed with good taste, can we?  
**

"I'm not wearing any shoes."

We had driven miles, in not a very long time, before I realised this. I didn't normally mind my mom or Nick taking their eyes off the road when they were driving our relatively safe Citroen C4 at 40 miles per hour, but when the person doing the driving wasn't wearing a seat belt, was driving a Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet, and was doing 95 miles per hour, it's a little scarier.

"Oh, you're right, you're not" was Emmett's reply, as he took one hand off the steering wheel, and looked down at my feet. If I'd been less scared, I might have screamed. "You could have told me before we left."

Having a six and a half foot, 300 pound, complete hottie pout at you whilst driving the car of your dreams, is about as close to heaven you can get whilst breathing. I mean, you could have taken the car away, and just left Emmett and I in the middle of the countryside (although, it was starting to drizzle a little) and it still would have been perfect.

"How old is Alice?" I asked interestedly, as I realized that a girl who looked 12 owned a car worth over one hundred thousand pounds.

"Alice?" Emmett repeated, switching the seat warmers on, "She's 15."

Okay, so maybe Alice wasn't as prepubescent as I'd first taken her to be, but she was still far too young to own this car.

"And, how does a 15 year old come to be in possession of a car such as this?" I demanded, the heat of the chair a pleasant contrast to the ice that was practically radiating off Emmett.

"It's a long and boring story" Emmett insisted, looking out of the driver's side window, as if the bleak Yorkshire moors were of the utmost interest to him. Now, it's not like I'm the best liar on the planet. I can lie when it's absolutely necessary, but I'm not amazing at it. But even I could tell that Emmett Cullen was avoiding a subject that was pretty massive. And a lie of omission is just as bad as a blatant, in your face falsehood. But I let it drop.

"Why did you decide that I needed a Porsche ride, today of all days?" Emmett looked like he should be the epitome of the 'strong silent' type, but I didn't get that vibe off him. So, I was intrigued as to why he was being so quiet, leaving me to ask the questions.

"Edward thought you'd appreciate it. He saw how you were drooling over it earlier."

"So, why didn't Edward take me out?"

"Edward's not old enough to drive in the UK yet. I am."

Why did Edward's name keep coming up? I wanted my name, and Emmett's to keep coming up, not his little brother's. And, that was not the answer I'd wanted. I'd wanted 'Because, Kate, I am madly in love with you.' Hell, I would have settled for 'madly in lust.' But no, the completely logical reason that Edward didn't have a UK licence. How irritating.

"The fact that you have no shoes on means that we can't get out of the car" Emmett pointed out, as I realised that we were travelling in the direction of Scarborough. That hadn't occurred to me.

"You realise this car doesn't really have a back seat?" I returned, twisting my head around and looking lovingly around the car. Emmett smirked at me.

"And why would my little sister's car need a back seat?" I'd forgotten that it wasn't his car, that it belonged to a fifteen year old. All the same, the lack of back seat made me wonder.

"What do you drive?" I enquired, as the car slowed to a stop, and we were still in the middle of nowhere.

"I drive a Jeep" he answered, eliciting a smile from me. I could have guessed that myself. "And my Jeep has a back seat. Not that I use it that much."

That made me happy. Very happy. Although, I couldn't understand for the life of me why. I mean surely it was within Emmett's power to see anybody he chose. Any girl would be absolutely mental to refuse him. Unless, of course, Renesmee...

"I don't mean to pry, Emmett, but I couldn't help noticing that Alice and Jasper are together, and Bella and Edward, so I thought maybe-"

He cut me off, "You thought maybe Renesmee and I were 'together' as you put it?"

I nodded guiltily, and thinking about it, it did seem wrong, despite the fact that their names sounded so pleasing together.

"No. Not at all. I know it's a bit weird with Alice and Jazz, and Edward and Bella, but it's just me. And just Renesmee. She's my little sister, and I love her with all my being, but just as a little sister."

My shoulders relaxed, I hadn't realised up until that point how full of tension they'd been."Don't you both get lonely? What with all the couples?"

"Didn't you want to probe me more about the incestuous links within my family?"

Short answer: no. Now that I knew that Emmett wasn't madly in love with his little sister, my mind was entirely clear. I couldn't have cared less if his adopted mother was sleeping with Edward, just so long as he wasn't with anyone.

"It's not really any of my business what goes on in your family, is it?" I replied, and although, I suppose, I was a little intrigued, I could live with it.

"You're a very appealing young lady, you know that Katherine Taylor?" he asked, the conversation finally turning in the direction that I'd been waiting for.

"Right back at you, Emmett Cullen" I replied, and the temperatures in the car changed simultaneously. It got hotter, as my heart sped up with my own audacity in the face of such a beautiful creature, and it cooled down as Emmett's presence overwhelmed me.

"I have much less self-control than my brothers" Emmett said cryptically, and I think that I actually had heart palpitations. "Bella and Edward were very cautious around one another when they first met, and Jasper, well, he has spent years honing his self-control. They both take after Carlisle."

"And you don't?" I asked, biting my bottom lip. I hadn't meant to execute such a flirtatious action, but I couldn't help myself, I swear.

"No" he replied. "I have very little self control."

Kissing Emmett Cullen was like drowning and flying at the same time. I stopped breathing, like the first time that I'd met him, and yet, the adrenaline that rushed through my body almost propelled me through the window screen, regardless of the seatbelt. That is, until I started shivering from the sub-zero temperatures of Emmett's body.

"I'm sorry" he apologised, drawing back from me. What? Sorry, for what? For ensuring that I could die happy? "See what I mean, very little self control. That was awfully forward."

"Awfully forward?" I giggled, repeating Emmett's phrase, "Do you have any idea how old that made you sound?"

"A little something that Edward taught me" Emmett responded, "It makes the action of kissing girls you don't know slightly more acceptable."

"Do you go around kissing girls that you don't know a lot?" I demanded, as Emmett turned up the heating in the car to compensate for the proximity of his body.

"You'd be the first" he replied, looking me in the eye again. My insides melted, which is strange considering how cold he was.

"Tell me about your family. The truth" I insisted, and Emmett's gaze intensified. I thought I'd crossed a line.

"Say that again" he ordered, narrowing his eyes at me.

"Tell me about your family? The truth?" My tone changed with the second time I said it, it was more questioning. I saw Emmett sigh, and then his perfect faced twisted slightly in confusion.

"It was nothing" he insisted, when he saw me looking at him worriedly, "It was just the weirdest compulsion to open my mouth and tell you what you wanted to hear."

What did he mean by that? When he said that did he mean that he'd felt compelled to lie to me, to tell me what my heart desired, or did he mean that he felt a need to tell me all about his family, like I'd asked? My head span.

"I'd probably better take you home. Face the music" he said, after a few moments of silence.

"Oh, don't worry about it. My mom and step-dad totally adore your dad, they won't even have been that worried I bet, especially since you left a note" I assured him, as he made the sort of manoeuvre to turn the Porsche around that one usually sees in professional stuntmen, stunning me.

"I didn't mean that" he clarified, grinning once more at me. "I meant Edward."

"So, don't tell him" I said, and to me it seemed the most obvious thing in the world. "Why would he even care? You're older than him, and a responsible adult, and anyway, it was him who suggested that we go out in the first place!"

"Oh, Edward will find out." Emmett grimaced, and looked at me uncomfortably, for the first time ever. "And my little brother is a paragon of morality. Like I said, he's good with self control, he expects me to be the same. And, well, he's going to be irritated."

Edward Cullen had absolutely no right to pass judgement. Emmett and I were both responsible, weren't we? It had nothing to do with him, and I couldn't imagine why it would irritate him. Little did I know, it would do much more that irritate him. It would change my life forever.


	5. Fifth

**A/N: For my American friends, who have no idea what Top Gear is, it's a programme about cars with Richard Hammond and others, where they regularly do crazy things with cars. Also, on a more story related basis, I'm moving really quite quickly with this. As in, I've updated every day (I think) since I put this up, which is pretty darned amazing for me, but also, the actual story is very fast. I've yet to decide whether this is a short coming or not. Despite my sister's critiscms (seriously honey, I might just write Jasper out of the entire thing) this is not a Bella/Edward romance. Emmett and Kate are not Edward and Bella. Hopefully, you'll see what I mean in a few chapters time. Have fun!**

**Disclaimer: It's fairly obvious I'm not Stephanie Meyer.  
**

"Oh my" my mother exclaimed, on opening the front door and finding me in Emmett Cullen's arms.

I was still feeling sort of like that.

"Hi, mom!" I greeted, as she stepped back out of the doorway and Emmett carried me across the threshold.

"Hello, Mrs. Davis," Emmett said, "Sorry for keeping her out so long. But Kate was fine, she enjoyed the drive, I hope."

My mom giggled like a teenager, as Nick stood in the doorway to the kitchen and scowled. "It was so nice of you to take our Kate out today. And in such a nice car! I don't believe that your dad can make so much money in our little old hospital."

Having reached the sofa, Emmett placed me gently down on it, and my mom giggled some more. "Oh, Emmett dear, you're hauling Kate around like she's a bag of flour, you must be so strong! Won't you stay for tea?"

"Mom" I hissed, averting my eyes from Emmett in utter embarrassment, "Firstly, stop flirting! And secondly, Emmett has a home to go to, remember?"

My mom's smile faded and she clenched her jaw. "I was just trying to be nice, Kate. Why is that such a problem?"

Rather than look awkward at the cat fight that my mother and I had practically worked ourselves into over him, Emmett threw the duvet back over me (it landed worryingly straight, considering the fact that it had been thrown entirely carelessly) and said graciously, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Davis, Esme will be expecting me home any minute. Bye Kate."

As my mom fussed some more over him ('Emmett, you must call me Louisa, Mrs. Davis is my mother in law' and 'Are you sure you won't stay? Coffee, maybe?') I pondered his words. 'Bye Kate' wasn't 'See you soon Kate', even Alice had said 'We might see you around' and I hadn't dreamt about her, or kissed her.

"He is such a nice boy!" Mom gushed, as soon as the front door was closed. "So, Kate, what happened? Where did you go? What's he like? Tell me everything!"

Thankfully, Nick chose that moment to saunter into the living room and mutter, "Really, Lou, Kate barely even knows him. Is it really sensible of us to let her go waltzing around the country with him, in her condition, and in that car?" So, although Nick was basically disapproving, he had managed to halt the Spanish Inquisition, at least for the time being.

"Oh, I suppose it would have been an entirely different matter if it had been that Isabella girl, wouldn't it?" my mother accused, whilst I mumbled under my breath that it was Bella.

"Of course!" Nick retorted, "Bella's a girl, Emmett is a boy. I don't feel safe having Kate out there with someone who has the potential to be so dangerous. Have you looked at the boy?! He could probably kill her with one blow."

I didn't know how my going for a drive with Emmett had turned into a full-blown riot.

"Oh, it's 'Bella' now is it?" my mother shouted, "How would you feel if I started calling Emmett, Em?"

Well, honestly, I'd have personally felt quite sickened, it sounded like a girl's name.

"Louisa, don't be so ridiculous! You know perfectly well that she asked to be called Bella. And despite the fact that she's a lovely looking girl-"

"Oh, she's a lovely looking girl now, is she?" mom yelled, her face beginning to colour. It was strange, I'd seen them have all the usual 'we've been married for ages' spats about leaving the toilet seat up, and drinking orange juice out of the carton, but this was the first time they'd ever really fought, much less in front of me.

"Are you denying that you find Dr. Cullen and his sons attractive, Louisa? Because that'd be entirely hypocritical."

"All I did was ask the boy to tea, to be polite, because he'd been so nice to our Kate" she retorted, her breathing uneven.

"You were sort of flirting with him, mom" I interjected truthfully, which earned me a death glare.

"Nobody asked you Kate" she fumed.

"Don't talk to her like that, she was only telling the truth" Nick protested, and as step-dads went, he was doing a pretty damn good job.

"Don't tell me how to raise my own daughter, you sanctimonious bast-"

"Hey!" I yelled, "Shut up!"

Both my mom's and Nick's mouths snapped shut, quite comically.

"I can't believe you. Both of you. You're behaving like a pair of toddlers. Mom, I can't believe you'd ever say something so hurtful. You know Nick only has eyes for you, and he's only trying to look out for me. And Nick" I turned to face my step-dad, who's eyes were shining, as though he were about to cry, "Do not worry about Emmett. He's a really decent person, honestly. And I'm not just saying that because I'm blinded by lust, I mean it."

Both my mom and Nick hung their heads in shame, and quite rightfully too. "So, no more fighting, okay?" I insisted, shocked that my words were having such an immediate effect. I'd expected an 'I'm the mother here' comment, at the very least.

"No more fighting" they echoed, my mom leaning down to kiss my forehead.

"You're a good girl Kate" Nick said, "I know you'd never do anything silly."

Except, of course, contemplating dropping knives on my toes purposely, and slitting my wrists, all because of Emmett. But, other than that.

"Sorry, Kate" mom apologised, sniffling slightly, "I'll make steak to cheer you up, yes?" I nodded my gratitude, as they both left for the kitchen, not even sniping at one another.

"What a crazy, crazy day" I murmured to myself, looking out of the window, at the spot where, a short while ago, had sat a Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet. You find, with some guys, that you pine over them for months and when you finally get the chance for your lips to brush theirs, everything you once felt for them disappears, and they're no longer special. I sort of wished Emmett had been like that, been a fantasy that fell flat, rather than intoxicating me the way he could. Everything about him screamed "Fall In Love With Me"- the hair, the eyes, for god's sake, the dimples! It just worried me that it could only be a matter of time before he found someone on the same level of physical beauty as himself, and decided that I wasn't good enough. I knew I wasn't good enough, knew I could never look like his sisters, or his mother, and it scared me to think that the more I fell in love with him, the more it'd hurt when he decided to move on. It was almost enough to persuade myself out of love with him, despite the spine-tingling quality of his breath, and the softness of his kiss, before I got in too deep.

Before I could argue myself into dizziness, my mobile rang, the mobile I'd totally neglected to take out with me earlier, despite my protestations at responsibility. An unknown number flashed up on the screen, and I frowned slightly, wondering where whoever was calling me had gotten my number from.

"Hello" I said into the phone, cautiously.

"Hello, Kate" a recently familiar voice returned, "It's Alice Cullen."

Firstly, she and Edward had show up unannounced at my home ridiculously early in the morning, and now she had my mobile number. What was going on with this girl?

"Oh, hey Alice" I said, "Thanks for loaning your car earlier."

There were rustling noises in the background, and I thought Alice might have her phone on speaker. Then I realised that I was being paranoid.

"No problem. The thing is, Katie-"

"Don't call me that" I cut Alice of brusquely, without explaining that my dad used to call me Katie.

"God, sorry Kate. I should have been more tactful" Alice apologised, her beautiful voice tainted with sorrow.

"How could you have known?" I asked, wondering whether disturbing intuition ran in the family.

"Okay, Kate, what I wanted to ask you is whether you'd be able to come over to our house, tonight. It's urgent, we really can't put it off" Alice explained. Well, I say explained, but all she really did was confuse me.

"Er, me?" I queried, the doubt evident in my voice, "What do you need me for?"

"Kate, I'm sending Emmett back for you, just be ready to leave, okay?" Alice didn't wait for me to reply, but cut me off, leaving me entirely baffled.

"Uh, mom, Nick?" I called, and both their heads appeared through the living room door. Thankfully, they both looked happy, they clearly hadn't continued what I perceived to be their infantile argument.

"Yes, sweetie?" my mom responded, pepper grinder in hand.

"Don't get mad" I said, pre-empting their anger, "But Emmett is coming back over to pick me up. I'm going to his house, to see Alice."

My mom and Nick shared a look which screamed, 'Yeah, right. Alice, of course' but oddly neither of them protested too vehemently. "Is he going to drop you back home too?" my mom asked, after which Nick tacked on, "And, if so, what time can we expect you back?"

Two questions I had neglected to ask Alice, but which the handy invention of the mobile phone solved. "I'll call as soon as I get there and tell you. It really depends on what Alice wants." As I said it, I recalled Alice had said '_we _really can't put it off' as opposed to 'I.' I wondered what I could already have done to necessitate a visit to her house.

"We'll wait up" Nick re-iterated, as Emmett Cullen stood in my living room for what seemed like the one hundredth time that day. His face didn't tell me much, so I couldn't tell if Alice had told him why she needed me so badly.

This time, after he made such a scene over my seat belt, I questioned him on his lack of one. "Why is it that I've been restrained like I'm on a shuttle to Mars, but you haven't even touched your seatbelt?" I asked, as the purring engine of the car propelled us along in the early evening light.

"You're much more delicate than me. More fragile" Here, Emmett looked down at my foot, as if to prove his point. "I think your parents would be fairly irritated if I brought you home in a match box. I'd be pretty put out myself, come to mention it."

"Why?" I teased, "Scared of damaging Alice's car?"

Everything about Emmett has always screamed 'intense', but nothing more so than his eyes and voice, when he replied, "Don't even joke about things like that Kate. If I hurt you, I'd have to kill myself."

That definitely got my attention. "Hang on, Emmett, I mean, I have no intention of throwing myself through the wind screen, but there's really no need for 'I'd have to kill myself'."

More smouldering eyes from Emmett as he muttered under his breath, "I don't care how hard it'd be, I'd do it."

He was beginning to scare me. Something about his entire family scared me.

"Emmett do you mind telling me what's going on?" I asked, and he clenched his jaw, as if he expected me to try and torture it out of him.

"Just wait until we get home, okay Kate?"

Driving at the speed he was, getting home didn't take very long. He was just incredibly lucky that the roads were clear, and that no stray police cars decided to tail us. I thought that Emmett was very lucky in all respects. Firstly, the speeding thing. Then, looking the way he did, and the fact that he had someone as obviously wonderful as Dr. Cullen as an adoptive father. He seemed to have it all.

Emmett pulled off another 'Top Gear' worthy manoeuvre, as he pulled into the garage, and the combination of his driving and the other cars in their garage just about blew my brain. Eventually I managed to choke out, "Nice Jeep" ignoring the three other highly prized European sports cars.

"It's my baby" Emmett replied, with a softness in his voice that made me sigh. "At least, it's one of them" he added, shooting an unnecessarily protective glance at me.

There wasn't time for me to be sufficiently awe-inspired by the Cullen's house, the most light and airy structure to ever hit Yorkshire, before I was thrust into their even more awe-inspiring presence.

"Kate" Esme greeted me warmly, gesturing to the leather sofa, which was one of the focal points of the extensive room. I remained standing, since Emmett and his family all were.

"What exactly is going on?" I asked slowly.

That one question changed my very existence.

**Me again: I totally forgot before, thought I'd do it now. Massive thank you to Superdani aka VioletFairchild for all the wonderful, lovely reviews, and also the fact that she was the first reviewer for this in particular. It means a lot to me. Hope you enjoy this.**


	6. Sixth

**A/N: I'm too tired to write anything other than...ENJOY...and also review...please, if you'd be so kind.**

"Renesmee is going to show you something now Kate, please don't be alarmed" Carlisle explained calmly, whilst the bronze, curly haired beauty advanced on me. I hadn't expected her to touch me, I'd expected her to continue behind me and switch on a projector, or a PowerPoint Presentation, or something, so I jumped when she reached out for me. My initial shock was that she was warm; I hadn't noticed that Carlisle's hands had been slightly chilly when he'd been treated me, but I'd since deducted that they must have been. Then, there was Emmett, whose lips were those of an ice sculpture, so for me it seemed obvious that this girl's skin should also be icy. But it wasn't. I had all those thoughts in the blink of an eye, quite literally, because, inexplicably, impossibly, a montage of images began to flicker in my mind, images moving too fast for me to comprehend them. Then, Edward touched Renesmee's shoulder and the images stopped, leaving me stunned.

"Okay, then" I said conversationally, "Interesting."

The faces around me were just as mesmerizing with grim expressions as they had been with smiles.

"I think somebody ought to explain" Alice piped up, startling me.

"Er, please" I returned, sensing that I was seriously out of the loop with regards to some fairly vital piece of information.

"Okay" she continued, "Jasper, Edward, are you both okay?"

I wondered why she'd singled them out. I'd figure it out much later on.

"This is a long story, going back hundreds of years, spanning thousands of miles and encountering territory new to us all." Alice threw a sideways glance at Renesmee and they shared a secret smile, before Alice continued, "It's dangerous for us to tell you this, but you'll have found out anyway, so we thought we'd contain the situation. Put simply, we're different. You might have noticed. And the explanation behind this is that we're vampires."

My first instinct was to laugh out loud, and tell them that it was a very funny joke, when I started adding up the facts; icy skin, impossible agility, four different European sports cars. Maybe the 'vampire' suggestion wasn't as farfetched as one might assume.

I heard Edward stifle a laugh, and all eyes turned in his direction.

"What?" Emmett demanded impatiently, and for the first time I saw how he could be considered dangerous.

"It's nothing" Edward replied, "It's just that Kate seems to think that the cars in the garage are a good indication that we're vampires." Nobody else seemed to find it as humorous as he did.

"How do you know that?" I wailed, remembering how Edward had known my considerations about knives, whilst I was in hospital.

"Hmm, yes" Alice stalled, "Maybe if I explained about us first, and then, yes, that'll work better."

"Get on with it Alice" Emmett growled, running a hand through his dark hair.

"Edward reads minds." Okay, so they were vampires, and mind readers.

"I see the future." It figured, she'd clearly known that I'd been willing to commit suicide over Emmett.

"Jasper, he can control emotions." Finally, one I'd yet to come across. If the situation hadn't have been so frighteningly twisted, I might have spoken to him about his gift.

"Bella is a shield" Alice carried on, and Bella inclined her head gracefully at me, as if to say 'Crazy, I know, but it's all true.'

Alice had stopped, so I took the time to question, "And everyone else?"

"Well" Alice replied, "You've experienced Renesmee, she can show others her memories. Esme is unfailingly kind, Carlisle has the constraint of a saint, and Emmett? Emmett found you. And believe me, he's going to be with you forever. That's his gift, to you. Unfailing, eternal devotion."

When I'd first met Emmett Cullen I'd had a major crush on him. When I first kissed Emmett Cullen, I hoped I'd marry him and love him until I died. Now I was finding out that Emmett Cullen's vampiric gift was his capacity to love me. I'm proud that I didn't pass out.

"Why are you telling me all this? You said it was dangerous" I pointed out, looking around the room.

"Because you're gifted too" Edward explained, "And you would have unknowingly used that gift to find all this out yourself and the consequences would have been disastrous."

Gifted? Me?

I could believe these people when they said that they were telepathic vampires, but I point blank refused to believe that I was in possession of any sort of power that had the ability to cause danger.

"So, tell me" I said, "How does someone who is decidedly human end up with a vampiric gift?"

It was Bella, who hadn't spoken much up to this point that explained to me, "Kate, every one of these people in this room, except Renesmee, was human at some point or another. The gifts we had as humans are multiplied in us as vampires. The trouble with you is that you are very powerful as a human being."

And that was when I noticed that every pair of eyes in the room was being averted from mine.

"You want to turn me into a vampire?" I guessed, my heartbeat accelerating. And then, by some magic, my heart slowed back down and I was suddenly incredibly calm that someone wanted to turn me into, well, a vampire. "Thank you Jasper" I said, when I figured out that this was just more proof that everything Alice had said was true.

"It's not that we want to turn you into a vampire" Carlisle answered, "But there is the small matter of the Volturi."

Even my spine tingled as he said those words, and I didn't even know what they meant. The fact that everyone else in the room looked so concerned was a clue that it wasn't a good thing.

"And, after Bella and Renesmee" Edward added, "Well, Caius is just looking for a reason to take us all out."

"I still don't see where I fit into this?" I protested, "What is this supposed gift of mine?"

Emmett explained for me, "You remember earlier, when you asked me to tell you about my family, to tell you all this, and I told you I felt compelled to tell you what you wanted to hear? Well, that's your gift."

I still didn't quite understand.

"People do what you tell them to" Esme supplied helpfully, which was, so to speak, the straw which broke the camel's back.

I laughed out loud. "Yeah, right" I said, "I have the ability to order people around. Let's prove that, shall we? Bella, turn the television on."

Bella stood, statue still, with her arm still firmly attached to Edward's waist.

"See!" I exclaimed, "No powers here."

Emmett whispered softly in my ear, "You picked the shield Kate. Try Carlisle."

In my opinion it was totally pointless, but I did so to placate Emmett. "Carlisle, turn on the television."

To my utter astonishment and terror, Carlisle shot like a bullet towards the sixty inch flat screen plasma, and switched the power on. My mouth dropped open.

Carlisle came back over to me, and patted me on the elbow reassuringly, explaining, "There's something about your voice Kate. It has a particular resonance."

My mind has processed vampires, my mind was still doing fairly well with a mind reader, clairvoyant, empathy, thought projector and shield, but added to this was the prospect of being turned into a vampire myself , and being able to control people. I think it's fair to say that was too much.

"So, will someone please explain to me why I have to be...like you?" I asked, careful to use the word 'please', so as not to make it sound like a command.

"Humans can't know about our world" Jasper told me quietly, his calming influence allowing his words to penetrate my brain. "They gave us time for Bella, but they won't be so kind this time."

"Who's they?" I queried, although I already knew the answer to that question.

"The Volturi" Esme answered, her beautiful face worried.

"But I never asked for you to tell me these things!" I protested, once I realised that my life was effectively over. "You told me."

It wasn't that I didn't want to turn into one of these breathtakingly beautiful people, and be with Emmett forever, but I rather resented that the choice had been taken away from me.

"That's how people feel every time you command them to do something" Edward told me.

"Can we just stick to one conversation please?" I demanded, "How about you answer the stuff coming out of my mouth, not my mind?"

Even though this appeared to be a family crisis, every member of the Cullen family took the time to smile at me, before Alice announced, "She's perfect."

Carlisle, still concentrating on my earlier statement, told me, "Alice foresaw that your gift would compromise our secret, and that the repercussions of that would be far more serious than the ones we can control, now that we know that you know."

I still had a thousand and one questions, but one was more pressing than the others. "How long, until I'm a-" I found myself unable to complete the question.

"The Volturi are going to be making an appearance soon, but, I mean, could we control a newborn?" Alice started a conversation with terminology that was way over my head, and that culminated in a debate on the pros and cons of Aro, Caius and Marcus seeing me as a human, and seeing me as a vampire. Whoever this Aro, Caius and Marcus were, they had a lot to answer for.

"What's a newborn?" I asked nobody in particular.

It was Renesmee that answered me, "A newborn is a newly bitten vampire, who can't control themselves, and can feel nothing but thirst."

I thought the question, and it only took Edward raising an eyebrow to realise what the thirst was for: blood.

"So, how long before a newborn becomes a vampire that's not thirsty anymore?" I asked, realising how painfully unaware I was of their whole world, when I'd been condemned to join them in it, in a short period of time.

"It depends" Emmett answered, "Bella never really was one, were you Bells?"

I heard an immediate difference in tone from when Emmett spoke to me, and when he spoke to Bella. With Bella he was a big brother, with me he was a lover. It slightly dulled the blow of joining the un-dead.

"I didn't have time for the newborn thing" Bella replied, and I think that she was joking. "The entire Volturi guard were approaching, I needed to learn how to control my shield, I had to pretend to my dad like I was still his Bella, and I had to learn how to be a mom. Where exactly was the time to succumb to an unquenchable thirst?" Bella looked indulgently at Renesmee, and then at Edward, and I caught on. Nothing could surprise me anymore.

Well, except for my phone vibrating in my jacket pocket, which made me jump, and put the entire Cullen family on defensive alert. I could see, with their bodies crouched, and their eyes sharp, exactly how vampires could exist.

"God, I forgot to call my mom and Nick when I got here" I muttered angrily at the screen displaying 'Home.' I took a deep breath before I accepted the call. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I totally forgot." Here my mother went off on a rant about how dangerous it could be for a young girl to be out on their own at night, even though I was in the Cullen's house, and not on my own. "Look mom." Getting those two words in were a struggle, I'm surprised she heard the rest of the sentence, "I've got to go, Alice needs me. I'll be home soon."

I practically pulverised the end call key with my thumb, and Emmett's breath floated down my neck as he murmured in my ear, "She's right to worry about you. I worry about you." It seemed impossible that Emmett and I had only known one another for 48 hours, but I suppose, when you meet the love of your existence, Time behaves a little differently.

"How long will I be a newborn?" I whispered at him, unaware that every other person in the room could hear me. But, tactfully, they all pretended like they couldn't.

"I honestly don't know Kate" he replied, upset by the fact that he wasn't comforting me, "But, after the newborn thing, then comes..."

Edward laughed delicately from the other side of the room, and I whirled around to face him. "What's so funny?" I enquired, already sick of him listening into private mental thoughts.

"Do you remember what you were thinking this morning when I asked you whether you'd slept well?" Edward asked me, and not able to help myself, I blushed. Edward nodded his head at Emmett, and I made the connection.

"Hey, how come the human doesn't get teased about blushing?" Bella demanded of Emmett, who shrugged his shoulders and answered, "I love her in a way that prevents me from taunting her like that."

Okay, so, first, Emmett had used the 'L' word, in reference to me, in front of people. That was enough to send me into meltdown. I also realised at the same time the physical incapacities that vampirism entailed, excluding the supernatural good looks; no more blushing, no more heartbeat.

There were still a lot of questions that I had to ask, but since I knew that my days with my mom and Nick were numbered, I insisted that Emmett drove me home, so I could spend a little time with them. I promised to come back the next day.


	7. Seventh

**A/N: The conversation at the beginning will not seem particularly coherent to anybody but me, it makes sense to me, I don't really think it was supposed to make sense to you. Whatever, enjoy!**

"Are you scared?" Emmett asked, as we pulled out of the Cullen's garage, still using Alice's Porsche, despite the fact that his Jeep was freely available.

"Of being turned into a vampire, no. Of you driving this thing in the dark, hell yes."

Emmett emitted a low throaty laugh, "You probably wouldn't be surprised by the way Bella and Edward were in the beginning, he actually composed her songs and watched her sleep. I actually thought that it was mildly vomit inducing. Not that I can vomit" he added. Yes, that didn't surprise me. The pair of them definitely had that 'joined at the hip' 19th Century lovers thing going on.

"You're Renesmee's uncle" I said, unquestioningly.

Emmett nodded, and replied, "I don't know why I love you, I just do."

Figures, I mean, apart from the inhuman beauty, I wasn't entirely sure why I loved Emmett so much either, having known him for the grand total of about two days. And then I realised that the entire fact that he was answering questions that I wasn't asking, without Edward's irritating habit of mind-reading, was very much part of our compatibility.

"I know it'll probably take a while to sink in, but you will get your head around it, I promise." Emmett reached out, brushing his hand against my fingers.

"It means we'll be together. I'll cope." I had already worked out that with this whole 'newborn' thing I wouldn't be able to stay at home, that I'd probably want to bleed my mom and Nick dry, and that I'd never be the same again. "Will I be beautiful, like you?" I asked doubtfully. At that point I was fairly grateful for the seatbelt, as Emmett slammed the brakes on the car.

"You are beautiful" he growled, his eyes scorching through to what I thought must be my soul, "The most beautiful."

I rolled my eyes, as images of Renesmee, Bella, Esme and Alice flickered in my mind. "Now who sounds like Edward?" I teased, even though I knew he couldn't be telling the truth.

"Edward never would have done this" Emmett said, leaning over and searching out the pulse in my neck with his lips.

"Watch the road!" I giggled, as his lips crawled down my throat.

"The road's fine" he replied, his voice vibrating against my skin and adjusting the wheel slightly to avoid a sheep that had strayed into our path.

"You have to teach me how to do that, when-" I didn't want to say the word 'vampire' again; I'd heard it far too many times in the space of a few hours.

"Don't think about it" he suggested, turning his attention back to driving. Half of me felt safer, half of me didn't. I compromised by taking the hand that wasn't on the steering wheel, and intertwining my fingers with his.

"Why are vampires so cold?" I asked, as his icy hand began to numb my skin. "Oh" I realised, as Emmett went to open his mouth, "No heartbeat means no blood pumping, right? And blood is warm. Makes sense really."

Emmett nodded his head, and moved to take his hand away from mine. "Don't you dare Emmett Cullen" I warned, and he cringed.

"You know what Carlisle said about resonance? Well, that's actually quite painful."

I hadn't realised that my voice had changed, I hadn't meant it to, and I hadn't even meant for that to be an order.

"Don't apologise" he added, as I began to open my mouth, "It's not your fault you're amazing." It was however my fault that my voice hurt him, and I determined never to say anything that could be construed as an order ever again, if I could help it.

"I can't tell anyone, right? Not my mom, not Nick?"

Emmett shook my head and said, "Talk to Bella tomorrow. She knows all about the trials and tribulations of leaving humanity behind." I got the feeling that Bella had gotten much more time to adapt to this than I had.

"Why?" I questioned, "Why are you all vampires?"

Emmett didn't reply.

"Emmett?"

I knew that there was no way that he was concentrating so hard on driving, for goodness sakes, he'd managed to dodge a sheep while kissing me not ten minutes ago.

"Let's not talk about it anymore" Emmett said, "They'll be more than enough time to discuss this...later." I knew that I'd never find conversation with Emmett awkward, not even if we both existed until the end of time, but he was right, I was all vampire-d out.

"Are you going to watch me sleep then?" I added, recalling his earlier comments about Edward's soppy behaviour.

"Would you like me to watch you sleep?" he replied, as he slowed to a more respectable speed on the approach to my house.

"I'm sure you've got much better things to do with your time. You don't sleep, do you?" So, that was another thing I could say goodbye to. In truth, this new life didn't seem to have too many perks, excepting Emmett himself.

"After the whole newborn thing, it does get better, honestly."

I remembered Edward's comment, and blushed some more.

"I love it when you blush" Emmett commented, the car now stationary in front of my drive. I saw the living room curtains twitch; my mother had always taken a sordid interest in my love life.

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it, no heartbeat equals no blushing" I reminded him, rather grudgingly.

"It's all going to be fine. Although Aro..."

Those three names, Aro, Caius and Marcus, they made me angry somehow. Despite the fact that I'd just met a whole bunch of lovely, vegetarian vampires (Alice had reassured me as I'd been leaving that the Cullens' blood intake was strictly non-human) I just knew that those three names meant trouble.

"No more vampire talk" I reminded Emmett, placing a finger on his lips.

"I forgot" he replied, nipping my finger lightly, careful not to break the skin. "Let's get you to bed Miss Taylor."

Emmett's arms were a very comfortable place to be, but his strength no longer awed me since I'd seen Edward pick up the baby grand in the Cullens' living room, and reposition it.

"Hello again, Mrs. Davies" Emmett said, my mom having opened the door before either of us had a chance to ring the bell. "I promise I won't come back again until tomorrow" he added, on seeing Nick's slightly disapproving expression. "I will see you tomorrow Kate" he told me, leaving me on the sofa, the only place other than the inside of Alice's Porsche and the Cullens' living room that I'd really had the ability to get to in the past three days, and even then, only thanks to Emmett.

"What time are you going to come and get me?" I asked, and Nick's eyes narrowed significantly.

As Emmett answered, "Ten o' clock, weather permitting," Nick cut across, "I'll drop Kate off at your house, she can direct me."

My mother laughed, and I knew that it would be at my expense, "Nick, sweetheart, really? Kate isn't the best at geography, and Emmett has just offered."

My step-dad relinquished the over-protective male role, but he didn't look happy about it. "I suppose. But don't you have another car? I don't feel safe letting Kate race around Yorkshire in a Porsche."

Another eye-rolling moment for me. "Bring the Jeep. That is, if you think that you'd be able to lift me into it? My foot does still hurt quite a bit." I swore internally, before adding, "Please, Emmett?"

He smiled indulgently at me, ran a freezing finger along my jaw line, waved at my mom and Nick, and sauntered back out to the car. My skin tingled where he'd touched me, and I glanced out of the window to see him drive off.

"Your voice" Nick commented, sounding strangled.

"What about it?" This voice betrayed my fear. Carlisle had promised me that humans wouldn't be able to hear the difference in my tone, on account of my 'gift', that their ears were nowhere near sensitive enough.

"It's, well, it's different when you speak to him." Nick didn't define whether it was a good different or a bad different.

"Oh, leave her alone, Nick" my mom scolded, "It's young love, it'll consume her entirely for three weeks, and then she'll fall back in love with Alex Phillips." What she didn't know was that in three weeks I might not necessarily be a human being anymore. I still hadn't worked out how the Italian Vampiric Police Force, the Volturi, were going to find out that I knew about their supernatural existence, but apparently it had Alice worried. And when one member of the Cullen family worried, they all worried.

"Whatever happened to Alex Phillips?" Nick questioned, as I once more attempted to manipulate my brain into understanding the situation, "He was here yesterday, wasn't he?" Here, he went off on a tangent, detailing all the ways in which Alex Phillips was much better suited to me: I'd known him pretty much since I was born, his parents were really nice people that my mom and Nick knew and trusted, Alex's Clio was much safer than a Porsche. The list went on, I think. I didn't tell Nick, but I had the number one top reason to love Emmett instead; he was my soul mate. I didn't tell him that, for fear of sounding absolutely mental. It was a little bit mental actually, but since my entire world had been turned inside out, upside down, back to front and done a back flip in the matter of a couple of hours, I figured it sounded less loopy to me than it would to Nick.

"Steak with salsa verde, homemade chips and green salad" my mom announced, bringing a tray in from the kitchen, "Steak well done, of course." Seeing as how fairly soon I'd be drinking blood for my dietary requirements, I considered trying my steak rare for the time being.

"It's lovely" I reassured my mom, as she hovered over me, "Really."

"So, you didn't eat at Dr. Cullen's house then?" she probed, clearly trying to be more subtle than she had earlier, "What did Alice want you for after all?"

I quickly shovelled another mouthful of my dinner into my mouth, and chewed extensively, giving me a few seconds to invent an appropriate lie. "Oh" I said finally, "It wasn't actually really anything much, she just wanted my opinion on the positioning of her bed in her room. Dr. Cullen told her that I'm into Feng Shui." It was honestly the best that I could come up with.

"You're into Feng Shui?" my mother asked, a look of complete astonishment on her face. "Since when?"

I mumbled something about having picked up a book about it sometime, and then pretended to be really interested in my salad.

"So, was that all?" she continued, after I thought the subject was closed. "You were out for about 2 hours, it could only have taken you twenty minutes to Feng Shui Alice's room." Her interest in my love life was beginning to grate a little, and, unfortunately, there was no Jasper around to tame me into submission. However, the realisation that the days that my mom, Nick and I had together were rapidly drawing to a close, forced me to keep cool.

"We just hung out. Watched TV. Did girly stuff."

"And Emmett?" I knew it could only be a matter of time before his name was brought up, my mom just couldn't cope with not knowing every little detail.

"Emmett was helping Edward move some things for Esme." This lie was much more dependable than 'Feng Shui', and like all the best lies, it was partially true; Emmett had spent the best part of the day hauling me in and out of cars. There was more gentle probing until I finished my dinner; what was the Cullens' house like, were Dr. and Mrs. Cullen really as nice as they seemed, what was the atmosphere like with all those adopted kids running around? None of them questions which I could really answer, because my visit had focused more on the transition from human to vampire, and I'd understood very little of it.

I faked a yawn very soon after my plate was clear, because although I did want to spend as much time as I could with my mom and step-dad, I really did need a little 'me' time, to get my head around things in privacy, and devise a list of questions to ask the Cullens. I knew how one became a vampire, Carlisle had described the basic process for me, the injection of vampiric venom into the bloodstream, but I also knew that I was a special case for him; I wasn't hanging onto my life by a thread. He'd described it as a last ditch resort, but I didn't know what made someone need a last ditch resort, and since Emmett hadn't precisely been forthcoming about what had landed he, his brothers and his sisters into this position, I resolved to find out. And, I was so intrigued by Nessie (the family nickname has stuck in my brain, much to Bella's chagrin) that I wanted to have a good chat with her, and possibly see some more of her memories.

I remember thinking that I should treasure sleep, because I wouldn't be able to do it much longer, but, as is always the case, my thoughts became more and more abstract as sleep drew closer and closer, and my last thoughts were barely coherent, let alone appreciating the wonders of R.E.M.


	8. Eighth

**A/N: Okay, so this gets a little car crazy near the end, I CAN'T HELP IT!! And, I've got to say, seeing as how I've done away with Rosalie and Jacob, I've also played around a bit with the cars in the story, to add a few of my personal favourites. Sigh. I'm never going to own any of them. Sigh. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Not me.  
**

"Are you sure you really need to be up this early, Kate?" Nick asked, after shaking me awake at 8 a.m., bearing a cappuccino."I can come back in forty-five minutes. You don't need that long to get ready."

"It'll take me forty-five minutes to get to the bathroom" I replied, sleepily, stretching out and yawning, "Plus, I think I'll need a bit more time to make myself even close to the Cullens in terms of aesthetics." I took the coffee gratefully, sipped a little, and then took Nick's arm for support.

"If you insist" he relented unwillingly, helping me hobble out of the living room, and down the hallway. "I'll get your mother to pick out an outfit for you from your wardrobe before she leaves. Do you have anything particular in mind?" Nick offered, as the sounds of my mom blending and juicing in the kitchen interrupted us.

"Ooh, I don't know" I feigned concentration as if I hadn't spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about what to wear. "Perhaps, my emerald sweater, the cashmere one, and my white denim mini?"

Nick pulled a face at me, "I think you'd be more comfortable in sweats and a hoodie." Comfortable hadn't been on the agenda when I'd thought about my outfit, I just needed something that didn't look too horrendous next to Versace and Armani.

"Well, just get her to bring a bunch of stuff down and I'll think about it" I suggested, leaning on the bathroom door. "Er, Nick?" I asked, as he shuffled off down the hallway to join my mom in the kitchen, "How exactly am I meant to take a shower without getting my bandage all wet?"

My step-dad blinked at my foot, as if I'd asked him to crack the Enigma Code, and then laughed insecurely, "Don't worry about getting it wet, Dr. Cullen can do you another one when you get to his house, can't he?"

"No." My voice was too sharp, too defensive, I realised, after I'd uttered that single word. "I mean" I added hurriedly, "Chances are he'll probably be at the hospital anyway, and even if he isn't, how would you like it if a client called you up at home to ask you about fiscal stuff?"

Nick shrugged carelessly, and replied, "I expect it. I do work from home, after all."

"Yeah, well, Carlisle doesn't." There was the tiniest of pauses, and I could have sworn that Nick was envisaging walking me down the aisle, merely because I'd referred to Emmett's dad as Carlisle, rather than Dr. Cullen.

My question, how to shower without soaking my bandage, still hadn't been answered, so I played it by ear, leaving the shower door open, and my foot stuck out of it, whilst I washed my hair, and used my nicest shower gel, the one that Becky Clarke had brought me last Christmas. My leg ached by the time that I was through, but I was determined not to have to expose anything that even vaguely smelled of blood whilst I was at the Cullens' house, just to be sensitive.

My mom had left for work by the time that I was out of the bathroom, and Nick was safely closeted in his office, so it was up to me to solve the clothing conundrum myself. The grey skinny jeans my mom had selected from my wardrobe were out straight away, because they'd be agony to get over my injured foot. That left me with the white skirt that I'd requested, a pair of navy blue sweats, and a high waisted, floral print fifties style skirt, which I'd ordered online, but had yet to wear. Nick's comment about comfort bugged me; until then it hadn't bothered me that I'd probably freeze to death wearing my denim skirt, the only consideration I'd had was style. But then, I wondered, would Emmett and his family have more respect for me if I wore what I was comfortable in, rather than competing with Alice? Frankly, it was a competition that I couldn't win. In the end I settled for the green cashmere sweater, because it was warm, soft, and brought out the green in my eyes, along with the navy sweats, making the ensemble altogether more casual. I worried for ages that emerald and navy didn't go together, but that was before I looked in the mirror on the mantelpiece and saw the national emergency that was my hair. Five solid minutes of brushing later, it had become 'acceptably' curly, as opposed to 'mad, evil scientist on the loose' curly.

"Kate, you are a shallow, superficial person" I told myself, as I applied Urban Decay mascara, "You really don't deserve Emmett." The fact was, though, that Emmett was routinely surrounded by absolutely stunning beauties who wouldn't have been out of place in the pages of Vogue, and if attempting to live up to that terrifically high standard was in some way shallow or superficial, well then, you could just call me a puddle.

Half a cosmetics counter later I looked at my face in the mirror, and didn't recognise myself. Out came the cleansing wipes, off came the make-up. My face was once again a blank canvas. I was planning meticulously what to do with this canvas (a little eyeliner, some bronzer, a dab of lip gloss maybe) when the doorbell rang. "Nick, door!" I hollered, caught between going to the door and facing Emmett entirely make-up less (not to mention the fact that it'd probably take me a quarter of an hour to get there) and just throwing on whatever beauty product I could find, in the hope that it would make me look marginally more attractive. I knew that I should have made Nick wake me up at seven-thirty.

The doorbell rang again, yet I couldn't hear any signs of Nick stirring in his office. "Nick, door!" I repeated, louder, throwing my cosmetics case on the nearest available surface, wincing in pain and then beginning the laborious journey to the front door.

"You're early" I complained, glancing down at my wrist watch, the hands of which read 9:57.

"No, I'm not" Emmett countered, "I'm perfectly on time." He flashed his rather more expensive looking watch in my face, and I admitted defeat. It looked like one of those that NASA programmed so that it was always within one-thousandth of a second accurate to their International Space Station, or something equally impressive.

"Nick!" I yelled up the stairs, "You left Emmett waiting in the rain. Didn't you hear me calling you?"

Nick's face appeared over the banister, with a look of utter innocence on it. "Oh, hey Kate, did you call? Oh, sorry Emmett, mate, you're all wet, I couldn't hear Kate." The sincerity, or lack of it, in my step-dad's voice entirely contradicted the look on his face.

"We're going now" I announced, shaking my head, "See you soon."

Emmett allowed me to hobble about two steps to the care, before he growled impatiently, and scooped me up in his arms. "I like the rain as much as the next guy, but really? We'll be here all day." I'd never moved at speeds like that before, not counting the rides in Alice's car, and I imagined that I'd never get used to it. I practically had travel sickness from Emmett taking me to the car, let alone actually flat out running (Nessie had shown me some of the races she'd had with her Uncle, but all I'd really seen were two blurs whizzing about in a forest.)

"Horrible weather, especially for July" I commented, whilst I was once again treated to the Emmett Cullen seatbelt rigmarole.

"It's part of why we're here" Emmett replied, climbing back into the driver's seat, which, being an American car, was really where I should have been sat. "I mean, you can count on most places in England to be dismal and dreary, but none more so than Yorkshire. And, of course, Nessie just loved the irony of us moving here."

Having lived in Whitby all my life, I understood immediately: Dracula. Of course, a bunch of vegetarian vampires would find it amusing to live here, it was the place that Count Dracula had come ashore into England in Bram Stoker's novel.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping in a coffin right now?" I queried, following the details of the story.

"By all rights, I should be making you into my mid-morning snack" he answered lightly, "But Stoker didn't have a clue what he was talking about; I don't own a coffin, I don't have a particular aversion to garlic, holy water, or stakes, and I certainly do not turn into a bat after nightfall."

All of which was re-assuring to know.

"Did he get anything right?" I asked, thinking what a shame it was that such a good gothic novel was actually all a pack of lies.

"The penchant for beautiful women" Emmett replied, his eyes analysing me from head to toe. "You smell delicious."

"It's some eau de toilette shower gel by Chanel" I told him, at which he laughed.

"I meant your blood."

That blind sighted me. "Oh, I didn't realise. Well, that's O negative by Louisa ad Michael Taylor." Although, my mom was now Louisa Davis, of course, what with her remarrying and everything.

"Do you miss him?" Emmett asked me, glancing at me with a look of understanding on his face.

"Every single day. I'm sorry I snapped at Alice for calling me Katie-" my voice had been getting gradually more and more quiet, until the word 'Katie' was inaudible, to human ears.

"We're not the most tactful creatures when it comes to death, I'm afraid" Emmett apologised, "None of us experienced it. Well, obviously, you won't either, but it can make our attitudes seem rather cavalier."

He picked up my wrist; it looked particularly delicate in contrast to his hands, and kissed the thin skin which lay above a vein, or artery of some description.

"Is it a foregone conclusion?" I asked, my voice still a little shaky from discussing my dad, "Couldn't Alice be wrong? It could all still be fine, right?" Fine, was, of course, a subjective description, nothing could ever really be 'fine' again, not now I knew that vampires existed; vampires who did drink human blood, and who were terrifyingly powerful and frightening.

"Alice is good at what she does. Her visions change as peoples' decisions change, but ever since we got here, she's been seeing this. The Volturi are a constant, they want to keep tabs on us, 'make sure we're abiding by the rules', and they will find out that you know. Once you know something, you can't un-know it." I begged to differ, I'd once been forced, in history, to learn the dates of all the reigns of the British monarchs, from William of Normandy in 1066, up to the present day Elizabeth II, and that knowledge had disappeared right after the test we'd had on it. I could see, however, that knowing about the existence of vampires would fall into the category of 'Things you remember as long as you live.' At that moment in time, 'as long as you live' stretched out in front of me, spanning more time than I thought it possible there could be.

"Well, I suppose it can't be all bad. And you'll all be able to help. Especially Bella." Today was my chance to get to know a girl who I'd probably live with, and who could quite feasibly become a sister-in-law of sorts. And this girl had skipped the dangerous part of vampirism, just jumped right in there, adjusted perfectly to the lack of human blood. She'd be a hard act to follow, I knew. Thankfully, I'd been brought up to understand that life is neither fair nor easy, and since I'd be sharing eternity with Emmett, that was plenty to be grateful for.

This time when I entered the Cullen's garage I was ready for the astonishing array of truly amazing cars, but my breath was still a little ragged as I took a closer inspection, attempting to match the car to the owner. Maybe the Ferrari was Edward's, at least, its vivid red reminded me of how 'in-my-face' he was, with the whole mind-reading thing. The Maserati had to be Esme's, it reeked of 'class' and 'distinction' in a way that the amber Lamborghini just couldn't. Could that be Renesmee's? Could she drive? More importantly, could her feet even reach the pedals? Of course, I knew that the Porsche was Alice's, no less intimidating than it had been sitting outside my house.

And then, my eyes caught sight of some things that they'd missed the first time, possibly because they were less conspicuous than the other vibrant works of art. A dark Mercedes, which triggered a memory. That was Carlisle's. I remembered seeing it in the Hospital Car Park. In fact, Nick had commented on what a nice car it was. I wondered what he'd say if he could have seen me standing in that garage, surrounded by millions of pounds worth of cars.

There was a much more sensible looking Volvo, perhaps that was Renesmee's? It looked safer by a million miles, and seemed much more suited to her age.

As my eyes searched a bit more, they hit a car that I'd recognise anywhere. "Aston...Martin....Vanquish" I managed to choke out, though I probably sounded like I had a lump of chocolate stuck in the back of my throat. Whoever owned that one had STYLE.

"Hey, a compliment!" Edward crowed, smiling smugly, "You think I have style." I swore nice and loudly internally, for his ears only, and went on to wonder if I would be able to own a car that cost more than my mom earned in a year, once I was beautiful and indestructible. I'd always coveted an Aston Martin DB9. "You're not James Bond, Kate. They can't really make ones that vanish."

I felt my lips curve into a slow, lightly malicious smile. "You don't know everything, do you? You own the car that vanishes, honey, I'm not that flash."

Emmett chuckled, and grinned at his brother. "She's got you there Edward. Amazing, isn't she?"

Edward repeated, "Amazing alright."

I smiled, because it was the first time that I'd ever seen him look anything other than one hundred percent confident. He left, muttering under his breath, and I wondered how on Earth Bella was married to him. I looked up at Emmett, who winked at me and said, "He can't hear Bella, it's part of her shield." That explained a lot.

As we were stepping through to the main house, I noticed a dust sheet, another thing that I'd missed the first time, with my weak, human eyes. "What's under that?"I asked curiously, feeling drawn to the lumpy shape. Emmett ripped the dust sheet off, and my eyes practically fell out of my head.

"Jasper's Ducati" he told me.

That was it, I was turning into a vampire, and to hell with the lack of heart beat.


	9. Ninth

**A/N: Here we are once more, vampires and humans trying to be romantic, when one breaks real easily, and the other isn't supposed to let anyone know about his existence, because of the whole scary Italians situation. Why do they do it to themselves?**

**Disclaimer: I'm not her, she's not me, it's not mine. Well, some of it's mine, but the vast majority is hers.  
**

"Hey Kate!" Nessie's enthusiasm, added to her radiant good looks made me think of her as a five year old, in a good way. Although Bella, Esme and especially Alice were all incredibly supportive, and trying their best to help me adjust, it was Renesmee I found the most comfort in.

"Hey Ness- Renesmee" I returned, noticing Bella's disapproving glance in my direction, "What's up?" Renesmee flitted her fingers across the ivory keys of the piano she was seated at.

"Piano practice, that's what's up." She was playing Mozart, I was fairly sure, her eyes looking everywhere but the keys. With her straight back, down which her bronze curls fell, slender fingers and untainted skin, she looked every inch the classical virtuoso. "My dad's being a total monster" she explained, music lingering in the air, "Just because he can play every piece of music ever written somehow means that I have to too."

"Renesmee Carlie Cullen, you take that back right now" Bella demanded, her eyes full of reproach, "Your father adores you, and everything he does is in your best interest." Their conversation was so strikingly human that I had to pinch myself, to make sure that I hadn't dreamed the whole 'vampire' thing.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Alice asked cheerily, bouncing into the room. My brain felt like mush, I'd been under the impression that it was _her _job to read the future, so if anyone could have told us what was going to happen that day, it was supposed to be her.

"Kate's just hanging out today" Emmett said nonchalantly, throwing an arm around my waist casually. His arm was rock solid and COLD. Even wearing a cashmere sweater, I was shivering within seconds.

"Emmett, she's cold" Bella sighed wearily, standing over Renesmee, watching her practice. "I swear, you Cullen men really don't know how cold it can get hugging you." She gazed at me, in a way that suggested that her eyes should have been misted over with memory. "There used to always be able three feet of duvets and blankets between me and Edward, whenever he lay next to me on my bed." Nessie's angelic face screwed up in pain, as she bridged into a beautiful sounding piece that I'd never heard before. "Mother, dearest, please never mention you, dad, and physical contact in the same sentence in front of me ever again."

Bell tutted, a sound which reminded me of my mother, but she was smiling. "You're playing my song."

Nessie nodded her head, and smiled back dazzlingly, "It's still my favourite"

From beside me, although no longer touching (I was already missing the contact) Emmett made gagging noises. "I'm much less musical than Edward, so excuse e if I don't go around composing lullabies inspired by you."

I shrugged, "I'm no Beethoven either, I'd never expect you to do something for me that I couldn't do back for you." Emmet raised my left wrist, and repeated the action that he performed in the car, kissing it gently.

"Lambs can be such silly, silly creatures" Bella commented, and she was joined, imperceptibly, by the father of her child.

"The lions just keep getting more and more masochistic." They shared a love-filled look, as Emmett and I exchanged a look, not love-filled, but incredulous.

"Do you have any idea what they're talking about?" I whispered, feeling like I was intruding on a private moment.

"They can hear you, you know" Emmett whispered back, and Nessie giggled.

"Why are we all whispering?" she enquired, in hushed tones, swinging around on the piano stool, now she thought that her parents were taking no notice of her.

"Just explaining to Kate that she shouldn't think that she can keep anything a secret in this house."

"Chance'd be a fine thing" Alice interjected, startling me; I hadn't realised that she was still in the room, she hadn't moved at all, I hadn't heard her breathe.

"Stop complaining" Esme said, her delicate voice calling from the kitchen, "I didn't bring up children who complain about being gifted."

Nothing about the Cullens, or their home, seemed out of the ordinary. It was hard to believe that these people weren't alive, that their hearts weren't beating, when everything they did and said was so charged with vitality.

"Kate, could you could come here for a moment, please?" Esme added, and her voice had the quality of a tinkling bell. Emmett led me through to the kitchen, despite the fact that I would have had no trouble finding it myself; the entire ground floor was practically one room ,with just a few strategically placed walls. The kitchen was stunning, especially considering the occupants of the house didn't really go in for nouvelle cuisine, or cuisine of any type really. To my surprise, Esme was surrounded by foods of all descriptions, and brandishing saucepans when I entered. "I just wanted to check that you weren't allergic to anything, for your lunch."

I started to shake my head vehemently, but nobody was having any of it. "Let Esme have her fun" Emmett demanded, his mouth next to my ear, and his voice quiet and low.

"Now, let's see" Esme began, clapping her perfect hands together. "I've got a Chicken Waldorf Salad to start, you're not allergic to nuts are you, I'm going to use pecans?" I barely managed to shake my head before she steamed on, "Okay, and then we have lasagne al forno, with garlic ciabatta, you do like lasagne, don't you?" I willed myself not to think that I wasn't actually lasagne's greatest fan, because Edward would have heard, and told Esme, and she would have fussed some more. "And to finish," she stated excitedly, "Lime and coconut cheesecake." I'd thought that cheesecake was one of those things that needed overnight chilling, or at least some baking time.

"She's been making it since last night" Edward explained, striding to the massive Sub Zero fridge, in the spotless kitchen. He opened it, and there, all on its own, stood the cheesecake. I had to admit, it looked really good. I also had to admit that Esme had done far too much; I hadn't expected to eat, it wasn't like any of the Cullens could join me.

"Don't worry" Emmett reassured me, "We'll be getting something slightly more appetising soon, probably while you're dreaming sweet dreams." I'd seen Emmett drive a sports car at astronomical speeds down winding roads, and I'd seen Edward lift a baby grand, but I didn't want to think about them, either of them, out there tackling wolves and reindeer, and god only knows what other creatures. For all that Edward antagonised me with his 'gift' he was a part of Emmett's family, and since Emmett meant everything to me, that meant accepting Edward by default, whether I liked it or not. And, of course, the thought of Emmett engaged in any activity that could potentially see him harmed, drove me absolutely insane. I didn't care how strong he was, I didn't care that his grip was the most powerful thing that I knew, the thought still frightened me beyond belief.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that Kate" Emmett murmured, dragging me back into the living room, whilst Esme hummed behind us that lunch would be ready at about one thirty.

"What is it?" I asked, anxious. Emmett held my hands against his chest ; it was strange not feeling any heartbeat, although I was already accustomed to how cold and hard it was.

"Us, eating, it means that we're going to be gone for a few days. I know, I know" he ploughed on, seeing the look of anguish on my face, "It'll be torturous not being with you, not knowing what you're thinking, or smelling you, but I have to go. And hopefully, it'll make Bella a little less grouchy, she's always unbearable when she's thirsty."

"But what about the Volturi?" I wailed, and the fact that blood-thirsty, NON-VEGETERIAN Italians might be roaming around Yorkshire significantly paled in comparison to the fact that Emmett was leaving me.

"Carlisle is taking me, Bella and Jasper; Ness, Esme, Alice and Edward are going to stay here and then we're going to swap. There'll always be someone to protect you."

"How long?" I demanded, "How long are you going to be gone for?"

Emmett's slightly shifty eyes told me that I wasn't going to like his answer. "Four, maybe five days."

I felt my knees give way, and I would have crashed to the floor, but for Emmett grabbing me, as I attempted to comprehend him not being with me, not near me, for the best part of a week.

"Jazz!" he called, as I choked back sobs, "A hand here, bro?"

I tried to fight Jasper's emotional influence, because I knew that I had every right to be angry and upset, but short of specifically ordering Jasper not to tamper with my emotions, I had no choice but to become more and more peaceful.

"Don't you need to be here?" I asked, more rationally, Jasper still hovering in the background. "You're the strongest, what if they turn up?"

Emmett hushed me like I was a little kid, and answered, "Edward'll be able to pre-empt their every move, and Alice'll be able to see them coming days in advance, they will be able to protect you," he reiterated, as Esme called from the kitchen, "And looks can be deceiving Kate. I'm no pussycat." That, I could well believe.

"Neither am I" Nessie claimed, but everything about her, from her brown eyes to her tiny feet suggested ballerina fairy, not lethal weapon.

"Why don't you go and see Bella?" Emmett suggested, "You've got a lot in common, it'll help. Really."

I noticed that he's said 'you' as opposed to 'we' and presumed that he'd meant for Bella and I to have a nice, friendly, 'Silly human girls who went and fell in love with vampires' chat.

"Oh no you don't, mister" I corrected, "If you're leaving me for four or five days, I want you within reaching distance every moment of the day between now and when you leave. If I'm talking to Bella, so are you."

Seeing as how this was the guy that enjoyed a good fight with grizzly bears, according to Alice, I can only assume that Emmett let me drag him outside to see Bella, even though the air was full of moisture, and the sky dark grey, as if it were about to pour down any second. Welcome to the Great British Summer.

"Hi Bella" I said shyly, because she sort of intimidated me with her startling self assurance, and the fact that she was the one person whose mind I couldn't mould for my own purposes.

"Oh, hey Kate, I was just getting some fresh air. It's a habit of mine that stuck, because it's not like my lungs need it or anything." Bella entirely ignored Emmett, and invited me to sit on the grass next to her, the grass that was still damp. I hesitated for a second, scared of ruining my sweater. Emmett sighed, a 'Why do girls never dress appropriately?' type sigh, before pulling his hoodie over his head, and laying it on the ground for me. Not that I noticed. I was too busy trying to drag my eyes away from Emmett's t-shirt. It was white, and tight. Very, very tight.

"Oh, jesus!" Bella exclaimed, rolling her ebony black eyes, "Don't you own anything that's not Barbie doll sized, Emmett?" It wasn't that Emmett owned Barbie sized clothing, it was just that there was so much of him that clothes that I could have used as a tent tended to be quite close fitting. I felt my way gingerly onto Emmett's hoodie (it would have made quite a comfortable duvet for me) physically unable to tear my eyes away from him. I seriously wondered how Bella had ever fallen in love with Edward when he lived with Emmett.

"Kate, breathe please" Bella ordered, pinching me in a way that she probably considered soft (the bruise lasted four days.) "Believe me, I stopped breathing on account of Edward dazzling me once, and it's not healthy, so just breathe for me, okay?" The blackness retreated, as I breathed deeply, and Emmett smirked at me.

"If you're just going to pass out on me, I might as well go and pulverise Nessie at air hockey."

Bella glowered at him. "Renesmee is still practising piano, you stay right here and help me look after your girlfriend."

I shuddered at the word 'girlfriend', it seemed so small and inconsequential, when what I felt for Emmett was all consuming.

"Come here." Emmett lifted me off the ground, sat himself down, and laid me across him as if I were a blanket. "Now, will you please talk to Bella? I want this to be as painless as possible for you."

Bella raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow, her lips curving into a smile that suggested distaste, "You know as well as I do, if there's one thing that you can guarantee this will be, it's painful."

I gulped. I had a low pain threshold, and, if I'd been worried before, now I was petrified.


	10. Tenth

**A/N: Here we are again, another installment of my favourite story of the moment. Well, of course, I'd say that, wouldn't I?**

**Disclaimer: Oh dear, don't make me imagine what life would be like if they were all mine.  
**

"So, what is it that you want to know exactly?" Bella asked, as I shuffled on Emmett's chest, trying to get comfortable.

"Everything!" I replied eagerly, ready to learn Her Story.

Bella laughed, the sound was like the trickling of a waterfall. "These past few years would take up an entire book to tell you" she explained, and Emmett added,

"More like four."

Bella whispered conspiratorially at me, "He's just sour because I've beat him at arm wrestling a few dozen times." I looked incredulously between Emmett and Bella. It seemed entirely inconceivable to me, but the narrowing of Emmett's eyes reassured me that Bella spoke the truth. It reminded me to keep an open mind, considering the company.

"It'll be easier for you" Bella informed me, another thing that it was difficult for me to believe. "To start, Emmett wants you to become one of us." My heart beat faster, and I hoped that it was only detectable to me.

Emmett smiled wolfishly. "Only because I'm selfish." Bella batted him in the shoulder; the sound the impact made reminded me of two trains colliding, but Emmett's black eyes went right on twinkling.

"Edward was more concerned about my dad, and me leaving him, than how I felt, I think. Evidently, Emmett doesn't care." Truth be told, I couldn't find it in myself to worry too much about my mom and Nick either. After all, they had each other, and I was leaving them for their own good. A callous thought, maybe, but Emmett's touch was burnt into my skin now, had been from the first time that he'd ever touched me, and I couldn't get rid of it.

"You know" Bella carried on, "I think you're good for him." She spoke as if Emmett weren't there. "God, I love him, of course, he's my big brother, but it's about time that he found somebody to love. And somebody to love him back." The way the Cullens spoke of love was odd; it seemed casual in the most intense way possible. I'd always thought of love as something that a few people out of a hundred would find, and that it took a lifetime to develop properly. Yet, here I was, talking to Bella about it, like it was entirely natural for Emmett to be in love with me, despite the fact that I couldn't even really define the word.

"It's wonderful, and scary, all at the same time, isn't it?" she asked me, watching my brain work, "Being in love?"

"How did you know that you loved Edward?" I enquired, the question feeling intrusive, especially considering the fact that I didn't really know her in the slightest.

"He didn't like me at all at first" she told me, smiling, "He was my lab partner in Biology. It took ages for us to even talk, and then he rescued me from a spot of trouble, and well, I sort of just realised that I couldn't live without him."

Her words made me panic. She'd known Edward for months before she'd loved him, did that make my love for Emmett any less valid? To my mind, it did. Because, how well can you really know someone after such a short amount of time?

"Very well." Emmett's words, whispered into my ear, barely even startled me. He could read my mind in his own way, could see anxiety in my face within milliseconds of it appearing there.

Bella smiled sweetly, "As long as the love is there and I can see that it is, it'll all be fine. It's not like you're being asked to choose between Emmett and your family, the Volturi have chosen for you. All that remains is the, umm, transformation, and then you can start your beautiful new life together."

She made it all sound so simple, and sitting there, in the fresh air, it sounded feasible. "Does Alice have any idea yet about when?"

As if on cue, Alice appeared from thin air, to answer my question. "Gosh Kate, you're impatient aren't you? The Volturi should give us a few weeks before they drop by. And I've worked out how they'll find out, they're not being particularly subtle about it."

"How?" Emmett asked, and in his voice I could hear worry. I knew what it was; if we knew how I was discovered, we could potentially stop it from happening, and we'd lose out on the eternity together that I'd seen in my head.

"Demitri" Alice replied, and I saw a flicker of comprehension in both Bella and Emmett's eyes. "Yes, they'll send him over, and he'll pick up Kate's scent in the house. He follows it back to her home, Emmett you're there. Oh, alright, okay, that's quite enough you guys." Alice's mouth curved into a grin. "You two really need to learn better self control, at least until you're a vampire Kate!" she scolded me. I had to smile back; evidently she'd seen something that she'd rather not, and for me, that could only mean good things.

"That means they've decided to send Demitri" Bella murmured, sweeping her dark hair out of her pale face. "But when?"

Alice shrugged, but the move was too graceful, too elegant. "Not long, I shouldn't think. But then, of course, he has to get back to Italy and they have to decide on a course of action. Once they do that we can see how it'll go, and then we can figure out how long it'll be, and whether Kate should be turned before or after." I wasn't used to all this conjecture, based on the consequences of people's thoughts and decisions, but Alice seemed pleased enough by what she'd seen, because she added cheerily, "By the way, it's going to start raining again in precisely three and a half minutes, so you might want to come back inside."

I'd wanted to see some more of the Cullens' house anyway. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before; all the houses I knew were old, made of brick, probably in the nineteenth century, or classic country cottages. The architecture of the Cullens' house was, like everything about them, totally stunning. Mostly, it was glass, making all the rooms feel bigger than they actually were, and if I'd thought that I lived in the middle of nowhere, well, I'd been wrong. The house was miles from the nearest road, actually on the moors, looking entirely out of place, but like it should have been there all the same. Emmett gave me the official private tour, passing through the kitchen where Esme was doing a fair impersonation of a cookery show hostess, only at least fifteen times more beautiful, and we ended, I noted, in Emmett's bedroom. I'd expected it to be a mess; as far as I was concerned that was how men tended to live. To my pleasant surprise, it was quite orderly. Not nearly as much as Edward and Bella's room, which was entirely pristine, but it had a 'lived-in' look about it.

I turned, to comment to Emmett how nice I thought it was, but his lips caught mine in a sultry dance, and my thoughts evaporated, until my brain was all but empty. I tried to imagine how I tasted to him; his sense of taste was clearly more refined than mine, but I imagined myself to taste of mint, from my toothpaste, and possibly a residual taste of coffee, since I drank so much. To me, he tasted like his Jeep, as if somehow it was a part of him. He stopped, pushing me gently back from him when my teeth started chattering.

"You shouldn't tempt me so much" he complained, as I rubbed my sides, attempting to regain some body heat. "It's really quite mean of you." I tried to come to terms with the fact that I, Katherine Taylor, could apparently tempt Emmett Cullen, who looked like an Abercrombie and Fitch model.

"Esme's taken your salad out of the fridge" he added, although he didn't particularly look like he was focusing on smelling food down a flight of stairs. "Let's go and get you fed."

I still protested when Esme put the salad in front of me, especially as I felt like she was still watching me the entire time I was eating, despite the fact that she had her back turned to me, and was washing dishes.

"This is really good, Esme, thank you" I said, wondering how much lasagne she was going to give me exactly, because I was practically full up already. "When are you going away?" I asked Emmett, as I stabbed a leaf on my plate, with more ferocity than I'd intended.

"The day after tomorrow" Emmett replied, as my heart sank.

"In which case, you're watching me sleep tonight. I don't care how Edward-ish the behaviour is." There were cries of protest from the living room, and I vented on my salad again. "As soon as I'm a vampire, I swear, I'm going to-" Here, I attempted to destroy my fork, not taking Esme's reaction into consideration. I failed quite spectacularly, never having realised precisely how sturdy stainless steel is. Emmett took the fork from my hand, and folded it in half, much the same way that I'd fold a piece of paper.

"There you go. You'll be able to do that for yourself soon" he told me, twirling a lock of my already curly hair around his finger. It was a good job that I'd finished the salad, since now I didn't have a fork that functioned. It didn't bother me, at least, not until Esme brought me her lasagne, and sighed heavily at the concertina-ed fork.

"Really, I expected it of Renesmee when she was a baby, but you're seventeen years old!"

I copied Esme, shaking my head at Emmett. "Really Emmett, what were you thinking?"

Esme brought me a fresh fork, and my mind reeled at how natural the situation felt, like a pair of Jimmy Choos that fitted perfectly. Emmett and I behaved as if we'd been together for years rather than days, I felt perfectly comfortable insulting his brother, and, to me, his mother was undoubtedly the most wonderful woman ever.

"How old are you really?" I asked Emmett, re-calling that Esme had called him seventeen.

"A little older than that" he replied, laughing. I'd found out soon enough, I guessed, and what did it matter anyway? Age was just a number, and as my mother was ever so fond of telling me, you're only as young as you feel.

The lasagne was really, really good. I wondered whether Esme had spent some time in Italy. Even though it was good, if I was going to give her cheesecake a fair trial, I couldn't finish it. Esme looked upset at having to take away a plate that still had food on it, but I swear she noticed my eyes light up when she set a slice of cheesecake in front of me.

"How did you know that coconut and lime are my two favourite flavours ever?" I enthused, as the cheesecake melted in my mouth.

"Emmett had a hunch" she told me, with a smile that could have lit the Statue of Liberty's torch. She patted him on the head lovingly, and he smiled back. It sort of scared me how well the Cullens got on with their parents, or maybe that was envy?

"How did you know?" I repeated my question, this time to Emmett, and he kissed me in reply.

"Simple" he said, "They're both practically infused into your taste." I supposed that answered the question of what I tasted like.

"Want some?" I offered teasingly, waving my fork in front of his face.

The wrinkling of his nose suggested not. "I'll pass thanks. Esme made it for you."

Or, reading between the lines, "Esme made that yucky human stuff for you, and you're not getting it within six miles of me."

"Your loss" I shrugged, polishing off the cheesecake. "Um, Esme?" I said sweetly, not in the slightest embarrassed, "You haven't got any more cheesecake going spare, have you?"

Esme beamed at me, before bringing another plate over to me. When I'd practically finished the entire thing by myself, I really appreciated the fact that the Cullens didn't eat the same food as me, because they'd have won any day if I'd had to fight for it, and that cheesecake was up there near Emmett on the 'Things I Can't Live Without' list. Near, but Emmett was still the number one thing in my life.

"Wow, I never knew people liked that stuff so much" Alice commented, sliding into a seat at the kitchen table opposite me. "Aw, Emmett!" she cooed, after she's spent a short period of time with the blank faced look that showed she was having a flash of the future, "It'll be perfect!" She zoomed off with her little pixie laugh ringing in my ears.

"What's she talking about?" I asked Emmett, and his reply of, "Alice will be Alice" was far too quick to have been entirely truthful. "Edward!" I called, and by the time that I'd finished his name, he was towering over me.

"Yes, Kate?" he replied, and for the first time ever, I was grateful for his talent.

"Could you tell me what Emmett was thinking of when Alice was in here?"

I saw a look pass between the two brothers: Threatening vs. Amused.

"I could" Emmett said lightly, and Emmett glared some more. "But I'm not going to" he continued, causing me to stamp on his foot, because I never learn.

"Ouch" I moaned, and quick as a flash, Emmett was on his feet, and somehow so was I.

"Are you okay?" he asked, before growling something at his brother.

"Excuse me" Edward exclaimed, "She was the one who stamped on my foot. I never asked her to hurt herself." His logic was flawless, but it still wasn't fair. "Will you hurry up and turn her into a vampire? I can't bear having someone so breakable around all the time." His sentiment matched mine entirely, the sooner I wasn't so damned fragile, the better.

Bella, appearing from the living room, soothed Edward with inaudible words, throwing chastising looks at Emmett throughout.

I wasn't ready to go home, and besides, I wasn't prepared to have Emmett out of my sight for the next two days, but I had to get out of a house where everyone knew so much more about everything than me, and I could so easily get hurt, thanks to my hot temper, and weak body. The worst thing about it was that now I didn't even have one foot that worked properly, leaving me entirely dependent on Emmett. Not that that part bothered me all that much.


	11. Eleventh

**A/N: Odd numbered chapters always seem that bit more difficult to write than even numbered chapters, and I can't for the life of me think why. That, and the fourteenth chapter of anything is always ludicously hard. Or, at least, that's how I find it. Hopefully, this isn't too awful.**

**Disclaimer: Je m'appelle Amy, pas Stephanie.  
**

"Let's take the Aston Martin" Emmett suggested, seeing in my face that I was irritated and hurting.

"Yeah, sure" I replied morosely, but I couldn't help but get a tiny little bit excited as Emmett opened the Vanquish's door for me. "What is his problem with me?" I raged, and I would have lashed out again, except for the fact that I was sitting in a car even more precious than the Porsche.

"There's a couple of things" Emmett answered, flipping the car out of its space, and pressing the key to open the garage door. "Firstly, you're more beautiful than Bella, and that irritates him" I was about to intercede, to point out that I could accept anything _but _that, but he carried on, "Second, your gift is more impressive than his, and you're still human, that irritates him. Third, we don't have to go through everything that he and Bella did, and that irritates him too. Oh, and it's sort of my fault as well; I was pretty antagonising towards Bella when I first knew her, so he's just putting you through the same thing, in the name of Justice." To me, that wasn't Justice, it was plain petty.

"I'd ask you to crash it" I said, running my hands along the dashboard, "But, well, he's just not worth it."

We were cruising down a newly laid path; evidently the Cullens realised the inadequacies of living in the middle of the Yorkshire moors, and Emmett smiled, "I'll speak to him for you" he offered, "He doesn't mean to make you upset, and he had better not have meant to hurt you, I'll just explain to him. He'll stop."

Of course, I could always make him stop; it'd only take me a few words. But then, I'd promised myself, hadn't I? It sucked that I liked to keep my promises.

"Thank you" I replied sincerely, because it really did mean a lot to me. Vampirism was a difficult enough concept to get my head around, without Edward Cullen complicating matters. "Emmett?" I asked, after we'd spent a few minutes driving along, him admiring the view, and me the car. He turned his head to face me, smiling. "If I ask you something, will you answer me honestly?"

"Anything for you." The utter sweetness of those three words practically made me forget what it was that I wanted to ask. And maybe he'd meant for that to happen, because I got the feeling that he knew what I was going to ask.

"What will be perfect?" I had no doubt whatever it was would be perfect; Alice's judgement was impeccable.

Emmett looked uncomfortable, which, being his size, and in this car, wasn't unlikely.

"Katie, do you trust me?" I squeezed my eyes tightly shut on hearing that name, even seven years after my dad had died, it was still like a bullet to my heart.

"Yes" I swallowed, breathing through the pain. "I trust you." I took that to mean that he wouldn't be answering my question any time in the near future.

"You'll find out soon enough" he re-assured me, stroking my hair, dark like his.

"I better" I grumbled, letting my body relax into the seat for the first time. "I've known you about two days, yet have my body is already incapacitated. At this rate, Carlisle is going to have no choice but to turn me into a vampire to save my life." It had been a joke, at least, that's how I'd meant for it to be, but, for some reason, Emmett didn't find it as funny as I had.

"You will always have a choice" he said, far too sombrely for my liking, "Even if you're seconds away from death, I'm not forcing you into anything. I love you, and that can't change, and you, you beautiful girl, you love me back, for whatever reason. I'm not about to ask you why, I'm just acknowledging how lucky I am-"

"Emmett" I interrupted softly, "You're rambling." He didn't take any notice of me.

"I could always ask Edward why, I suppose, but I don't think that I really want to know. The best part of love, it's the fact that it's partially inexplicable, at least, that's the way I feel-"

"Emmett!" I all but shouted, "Do you even have a point anymore?"

He looked at me as if I'd slapped him.

"Of course I still have a point, silly Katie." The sting was less this time, maybe if Emmett kept at it, I'd eventually overcome my phobia of the name. "My point is that I don't want you to feel like you're being backed into a corner. And don't think that I love you because you're going to be one of us, and I'm lonely, and if we pair up the numbers will be neater. This is the real thing, no doubt in my mind."

"No doubt in my heart" I offered, and, as I looked at him, I felt something physically happening to my heart; a barrier being put up around it that only Emmett would ever be able to overcome. Then, giggling simultaneously, the moment was gone. "What's wrong with us?" I breathed, between laughter. "It's like something out of an Austen novel!"

The sight of Emmett laughing uncontrollably at the wheel of an Aston Martin Vanquish was, finally, too much for me to handle.

"Hey, Kate" Emmett said, taking his foot of the accelerator, and pulling to a stop, "What's the matter? You're crying." It was a fairly obvious statement to make, what with the tears falling down my face, and my body racking with sobs.

"It's nothing" I replied, honestly, "I, it's just-" I didn't get any further, just dissolved into more tears. Had it been anyone else, I'd have been ashamed, but Emmett waited patiently for my tears to dry up, looking me over steadily until I announced, "I'm fine, really. Just, you know, hormones."

Rather than putting his foot back on the accelerator, which is what I'd wanted him to do, he turned the ignition off. "I think it would have been easier if I'd never met you, Katherine Taylor."

Hearing that statement was like my heart being slowly broken into pieces, the very fact that I maintained consciousness to hear his justification was little short of a miracle.

"Edward was right, for all that time," Here, Emmett sighed, a cross between resigned and cynical, "When I said to him 'Tanya'd be much less trouble' and he wouldn't listen to me, I put it down to him being hard-headed, as usual, but I see what he meant now."

Bella had been through this? She'd put her heart in the hands of someone much more dangerous and much more powerful than herself, yet she hadn't felt the need to tell me how much it hurt? I seriously wondered why not.

"I can see how much this is hurting you, and all I can say is that I'm sorry. I can't be Edward, I can't try and do the noble thing by you, because not only does that lead to stupid complications, but I won't leave you, because it would hurt me much more, and I don't deal with pain well. "

Bella's accusation of Emmett being selfish was entirely accurate, I could see that now, yet, in his words, I couldn't see what this spelt for whatever we had together.

"I don't know about Bella" I replied coolly, as if my heart weren't made up of millions of tiny shards of cold, hard glass, each digging into my ribs and lungs, making every breath agony, torturing me, "But I'm a straight talking person. What I want to know is whether you feel that you can love me the way that I love you." Emmett opened his mouth, but I held up my hand to signal that I wasn't done. "I don't make a habit of bursting into tears, I think maybe I'm due some more co-codamol. And I think that my ankle might be sprained, or at least one of the tendons strained, from my encounter with Edward."

Instantaneously the mood was entirely different; the rate at which the atmosphere changed from 'heartbreaking' to 'rational' was slightly shocking, as if the conversation about emotions, and their implications had never happened. Emmett started up the car and noted, "We haven't even been gone half an hour yet, they'll be suspicious if we go back so early. Where do you want to go?"

As I told Emmett, it didn't bother me where we went, as long as he was there. That was my only stipulation. We ended up just driving for miles through the ferocious wilderness of the moors, both contemplating recent events, at the same time as putting up some rather spectacular fronts.

"Do you need air?" he asked, a little while later, despite the fact that I already had my window rolled down.

"I always needs air. I still breathe" I replied, and there was truly no attempt to be either sarcastic or funny. Emmett rolled his eyes at me regardless, as I watched the speedometer reach the dizzying heights of one hundred and sixty miles per hour. Dizzying, but oddly comforting, as if driving faster was in some way wiping away all the external issues, things not even related to vampires, leaving just me, Emmett and the car in perfect harmony.

A while later, when we still hadn't seen another soul on the roads, I felt like I needed the air that Emmett had previously offered. We got out of the car in the middle of nowhere, which was most places near where I lived, and I asked Emmett to let me try walking, even with two messed up feet. After twenty minutes, and very little progress made, we decided to stop.

"I take it Her Majesty won't want to risk getting her sweater wet again?" Emmett joked, as I hovered, desperate to take the weight off my rather aching feet, but, yes, not wanting to ruin a perfectly nice item of clothing. Emmett retrieved a fairly hefty looking boulder from around fifty yards away, and positioned it on the ground. I looked at it nervously, not quite sure what I was meant to do with it.

"You sit" Emmett hinted for me, gesturing at it.

"It doesn't look comfortable" I said, taking note of the nastily sharp edges. In response to this, Emmett flattened his palm into the surface of the rock. It yielded, as though it were play dough in a toddler's hands, allowing him to craft a little throne for me, which fit me perfectly. He smiled all the while he was doing it, and seeing that smile, and knowing that it meant that he was content inspired a particular feeling in me; I wasn't sure whether it had a name, but I certainly hadn't experienced it before. In simple terms, it was nice. 'Nice' is a generic word, but it fit this feeling rather the way that my new seat fit me; like a glove.

Emmett threw himself, irritatingly tidily, on the ground at my abused feet once I was settled, looking up at the murky sky.

"It's not Hollywood, and it's not New York, but somehow I've survived the past seventeen years in this place. I like it" I commented, in reference to where we were, where the temperature rarely exceeded 14 degrees Celsius, and the appearance of the sun was a magical and mystical occurrence.

"You're here. It's perfect" Emmett returned, inhaling deeply. "It smells so wonderful; a mixture of you, and heather, and fresh wool. I'll never forget it." I hoped that Emmett would never have the chance to forget those smells, that I'd always be right there beside him to refresh his memory. It didn't seem the prudent time to be making such emotional declarations about the future, I, at least, could still feel the salty tear tracks that my earlier tears had created, and I was in no rush to add to them.

"Can we just stay here forever?" I asked, dreamily, when my breathing had slowed to practically non-existent, and my thoughts were becoming worryingly incoherent,

"I could stay here forever, if I wanted" Emmett murmured back, "But you, I'm afraid, can't. You need food, and water, and warmth, and those things are fairly sparse around here." Silly idea, of course, but why mess with perfection?

"Especially warmth" I griped, holding out my hand so that it skimmed across Emmett's cheekbones. The low noise that emanated from his throat was fairly conclusive; he liked it when I did that. I watched as he stood up, closely, I thought, but I still couldn't see the connection between his knees bending, and his back straightening, and him holding a steady upright position. It looked like one fluid movement; Emmett on ground, to Emmett stood up in no time at all.

"I don't like it when you do that" I complained, as Emmett gathered me up in his cool arms, "It makes me feel inadequate."

Emmett kissing me on the top of my head should have presented some type of challenge, after all, there were eleven whole inches, practically a foot, between his 6'4" and my 5'5", but he managed it with the grace and fluidity that I was moaning about.

He led me in a phantom waltz, I was balanced all the time on his shoes, but his movement was as if it were he alone dancing on a Monday afternoon, on the Yorkshire Moors, as the heavens opened for the fifth time in a day, and soaked us through. So what, I hadn't managed to save my sweater from the rain? And my hair probably did look awful, but I didn't care. It was just me and Emmett, twirling around on those hills, like nothing could ever come between us.


	12. Twelfth

**A/N: I've finally run out of rubbish to put here. Aren't you a lucky bunch?**

**Disclaimer: I love him, but I've never claimed to have created him.  
**

"Emmett Cullen, you truly are the limit" Bella said, when I limped through the Cullen's front door, shivering and soaked through. She was by my side in a flash, wringing out my hair much more effectively than I could.

"Uh oh" Nessie intoned, "Uncle Emmett's in trouble!" He did look sort of sheepish when he followed me through the door, no doubt anticipating the barrage of words that flew from Esme's mouth.

"What on earth were you thinking? Look how delicately she is." Esme grabbed my arm, inadvertently wrenching it out of my shoulder in the process, to illustrate my mortal shortcomings.

Emmett tried to intercept, but Esme was on a roll, "Don't try and sweet talk me out of it, it won't work on your mother. You've acted entirely irresponsibly today, and I know that you're not exactly famed for dependability, but I'd have thought that when something as precious as Kate was on the line you'd be able to behave appropriately."

Even though it was Emmett who was being reprimanded, it felt like I was the one on trial. Nessie's eyes were wide, and she commented lightly, "Grandma, I don't think I've ever seen you so enraged. And I know you."

Esme whirled away from me, returning with an armful of fluffy towels. "Bella, would you turn up the heating please? I'm sorry about shouting Nessie, dear. Your uncle does harass me so sometimes." Unless I'd been listening to an entirely different conversation, Esme's voice had never raised above a regular speaking volume.

"I'll be right back" Emmett promised, flying up the stairs after a retreating Esme.

"She's setting you a bath" Edward explained, joining us in the foyer, where a little puddle of rainwater was gradually forming by my feet.

"I'd offer to warm you up" Bella said apologetically, "But we're all rather cold." She contented herself by throwing one of the towels at Nessie, and then attacking me with hers from the left, while her daughter did the same from the right. They seemed more satisfied when I could finally express my displeasure at the fact that they were chaffing my skin until it was almost blistered. By that time, Emmett was back anyway, and he demanded to take over. He was gentler, wrapping me up in a fresh towel and carrying me to the sofa.

"The bath'll be five minutes. Esme's not happy with me" he told me, lighting the fire in the grate, although Bella had already turned the thermostat up so that I felt like a turkey on Christmas morning.

"It's not your fault" I protested, though I was greatly looking forward to the prospect of a hot bath, "I didn't let you put me back in the car." It was true, I hadn't wanted Emmett to let me go, I'd wanted to dance out there forever.

"Kate, you weigh what? Like, a hundred and fifteen pounds? You didn't make me do anything, it's my fault you're sick."

"I'm not sick" I countered, my voice stuffy, as if I had a really heavy cold. Which, I probably did. "I'm just a little cold." I really didn't like guilty Emmett, it didn't suit him. And I really resented the fact that he was making a conscious effort not to touch me, although he was doing it for my own good.

"I can get Carlisle to come home, if you need? I can't stand seeing you ill." Great, so now I looked ill?

"Don't disturb Carlisle at work, I'll be fine." An argument ensued, the basic jist of which was, 'Yes', 'No', 'Yes', 'No', until Alice shrieked from somewhere that we were slowly driving her mental, and that I'd win anyway, so could we both just shut up?

"Hey" Bella said, interrupting our fight, "Esme asked me to take you upstairs." She moved towards the sofa, and I prepared to be hauled around like a sack of flour again, when Emmett stepped in front of me, so that she couldn't reach me.

"I'll do it" he announced, his tone slightly aggressive.

"You've done more than enough already" Bella argued, her dark, piercing eyes flashing.

"Kate's my responsibility" Emmett reminded her, thrilling me by not merely calling me his girlfriend. "You should have thought of that earlier, shouldn't you?" Bella's tone was borderline insulting. It worried me; the Cullens had the type of relationship that most families could only ever dream of, but the dream was unravelling pretty damned fast.

"Yeah, okay, so we lost track of time, Kate got a bit wet, but she's fine now, what's your problem?" Emmett demanded, and Bella snarled.

"I know what it's like to be in her position. I know how it feels to be so entirely overwhelmed in a single second that the sensory system just shuts down. I know how hard it is to look away for just one moment. I'm trying to protect her body as well as her soul, and it seems like you're doing your level best to undermine me." I think that I was forgotten in the heat of the moment, so much forgotten that Edward whisked me away, without my knowledge, and without Emmett or Bella's either, and had me outside the bathroom door before I could count to two.

"It'll be fine" he re-assured me, dropping me lightly on my feet. Esme opened the door, letting out a cloud of steam.

"I want Emmett" I stuttered, like a little girl, and before I blinked again he was beside me, whispering a stream of soothing words in my ear, in a voice that was faintly hypnotising.

"Leave Kate to her bath" Esme ordered, with Edward nodding his agreement beside her. Emmett and I began our protests in chorus, and didn't stop until we both recognised the determination in the set of Esme's mouth.

"I'll wait outside" Emmett murmured, as I promised, "I'll be ten minutes, tops."

Esme couldn't really have needed to clear her throat, so I could only assume that the noise was meant to attract my attention. "At least half an hour" she commanded, and then sighed at my sodden clothes. "I'll get some of Bella's things for you whilst you're in there. Emmett if you're going to stand there, make yourself useful and hold these spare towels in case Kate needs them." Esme forced me inside the tiled room, closing the door firmly behind me. It, like every other room in the house, was of impressive proportions, including the bath, which I considered more of a swimming pool.

As I shimmied out of my soaked sweater and sweats, I prayed that Emmett didn't have a secret 'I-can-see-through-doors' power, that I hadn't previously been told about, because I was sure than in comparison to his mom and sisters, I was rather underwhelming. I rested my bandaged foot on the rim of the bath tub, as I immersed the rest of myself in. The scalding water was surprisingly soothing to my 'I stamped on a vampire's foot' injury, and my 'demonstration of human weakness' arm, although it couldn't make any difference to the ugly bruise that was forming, thanks to Bella pinching me. The sigh that I let out was a mixture of relief at finally being warm, and regret that my body was in such disrepair. I pushed my head under the water, challenging myself to see how long I could keep my head under without needing to breathe. Not long. My lungs still needed air, and, obviously, I'd drown if I opened my mouth, so I reluctantly forced my head back out of the water. The air in the bathroom seemed cold in comparison to the heat of the water, so my face and neck froze whilst the rest of my body enjoyed the heat of the water. It was so nice that it almost made me forget that Emmett was waiting outside for me. But since Emmett was continually in my mind, I relinquished the warmth as soon as I thought that the half an hour that Esme had demanded was over.

I wrapped myself in another huge fluffy towel, and then wondered how the clothing situation was going to work. Sadly, I didn't have the required self-confidence to walk out of the room and face Emmett dressed only in a towel. But then a high voice chirped from outside the door, "It's okay Kate, you can come out. I banished Emmett." I opened the door slowly, to find Alice stood with a pile of clothes almost as tall as herself. "Come on" she ordered, "You can come and get dressed in my room, it's all toasty warm."

The hallway on the second floor was deserted, it felt oddly eerie to me when I was used to so much presence in the house. I was grateful for it though, especially as it took me forever and a day to hobble into Alice's room.

"Here!" she announced, throwing the clothes onto the king sized, black framed bed, which would have dominated the room, but for the fact that the room was so massive. "They're all brand new; do you want a hand picking an outfit?" She was dying to, I could see it in her eyes, and hear it in her voice. Since she was dressed in a navy blue silk dress just to stay at home, I decided that she was probably the nearest I was going to get to a stylist. When, thirty seconds later, she had paired up THE cutest outfit this side of Milan Fashion Week, I conceded that she was better than most professionals. I took the 7 for Mankind denim cut-offs, and scoop neck scarlet Ralph Lauren tank top, along with pristine white blouse, into her en-suite bathroom which was stocked like the backstage of a runway fashion shoot. Alice had sneakily thrown beautiful new Victoria's Secret underwear, which still had the tags on. It was actually a good job that she had; I'd been so thoroughly soaked that not one item of clothing had escaped water damage to some extent.

To finally be warm, dry and clothed was an amazing feeling, but Alice wasn't finished with me yet. When I exited the bathroom she was at the dressing table in a walk-in-closet about the size of my bedroom. "Ready for hair and make-up?" she asked excitedly, brandishing a hairbrush. To me it seemed more like a deadly and offensive weapon.

"Yes" I conceded carefully, inching towards her, partly because of the incapacities of my body, partly through worried anticipation.

"You have beautiful hair" she commented, plugging a blow dryer into an adaptor socket. She talked the entire time she was drying it, but I didn't hear a single word she said over the roar of the dryer. It was weird looking at myself in her vanity mirror and seeing straight hair fall against shoulders, I couldn't quite decide whether I liked it or not. She flicked my hair into a pony tail, before pulling the front section out, and grabbing a pair of silver scissors that had been lying on the table.

"Alice, what are you doing?" I asked anxiously, as she snipped away.

"I'm giving you a fringe" she replied, shaking a can of hair spray, and covering my new fringe and ponytail with it. She pulled open the bottom left hand drawer of the table, revealing a vast quantity of make-up, which she barely flicked through. "I'm not ruining your skin with foundation" she told me, "It's far too pretty already. But here, mascara and eyeliner, a little blush for your cheeks, pink gloss." She whirled around me, her delicate fingers painting my face. Having put her cosmetic implements down, she looked me over, then frowned. If I was still a disappointment to her, after all that pampering, clearly I just wasn't vampire material.

"There's something missing" she murmured, her sharp eyes appraising me further. Her face lit up as she opened the top central drawer of the table, and my eyes widened in complete and total awe. It was stacked with some of the most beautiful looking jewels I'd ever seen in my life; sapphires, rubies, emeralds, pearls. Alice selected a pair of black and white diamond stud earrings, along with the matching necklace.

"Alice, I can't" I protested, as her cool fingers fastened the necklace.

"Course you can" she replied happily, petting me on the back. "Look at you!"

I did as she ordered, and was astonished by the face that stared back in the mirror. Whatever she'd done with the mascara and eyeliner made my hazel eyes look much bigger, in a face that now had cheekbones, thanks to her expert application of blusher. Even the hair looked good. I fingered my new fringe, and forced tears not to well up in my eyes.

"Thanks Alice" I almost choked the words out, moving my fingers to feel the diamond necklace around my throat.

"De rien, Kate. De rien" she replied, and perhaps to others the fact that she'd replied in French might suggest eccentricity. To me, it suggested that Jasper was lucky to have a partner who was clearly a hopeless romantic. "I'm dying to show you to everyone" she told me, as we hit the top of the staircase. "Do you mind if I-?" She looked pointedly at my foot, and then at the staircase. I had imagined that I'd feel horribly unstable being carried by Alice, mainly because I was taller and heavier than her. But, even with me in her arms, she glided down the staircase, setting me down in the living room.

Nessie was first to turn her head, and her eyes danced when she saw me, "Wow, Kate" her delicate voice breathed, "You look amazing."

"Yes" Bella added, "Really, truly stunning."

Being centre stage, and praised by all these astonishing people was rather an alien experience to me, especially since the flood of compliments didn't end there.

"So wonderful." That was Esme.

"A veritable belle." That was Jasper, who then hugged Alice ferociously whilst whispering in her ear.

"You certainly do look very American" Edward commented, and from his lips, it was high praise.

Infuriatingly, it was Emmett who didn't comment on my mini-transformation at the hands of his sister.

"Kate, trust me on this one, you really don't want to know" Edward told me, as Emmett merely gazed at me.

"Beautiful" he finally managed to whisper, "Just beautiful."

Ever since I'd met Emmett I'd been continually having 'Best moment of my life' moments. But even with all the other things; his kiss, the Porsche, I knew that hearing him say those words was the most special moment that I would ever encounter.


	13. Thirteenth

**A/N: Hello all. You know what I just found out? Emmett means 'entire.' Isn't that an unbelievably lovely meaning to a name? And since he's my entire world (sorry, slip of the tongue, Kate's entire world) I think it's really rather appropriate. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Just plain no.  
**

"I'm really not very happy about this" Esme commented, as we drove down the winding country roads at the rather sedate speed of fifty miles per hour. I was sat next to her in the front passenger seat, whilst Emmett was in the back, and even though the Volvo had more of a back seat than, say, the Porsche, because of his sheer size, he still looked like he could do with some more space. I also had the distinct impression that Esme had engineered the seating plan so Emmett and I were not together, for her own unfathomable reasons.

"I can't see why" Emmett sulked, glancing at Esme's eyes in the rear view mirror, "Edward used to stop over at Bella's all the time, and you never complained once about that."

I was sure that there were a million variations in Bella and Edward's situation than in ours, yet she chose to reply, "Yes, well, Edward doesn't have a tendency towards asinine behaviour, unlike you." I had the strongest urge to tell Esme not to speak to Emmett like that, then I realised that she could probably rip my head off if she wanted and decided against it.

Her words appeared to have very little effect on Emmett, who merely quipped, "Actively seeking confrontation with the Volturi is probably a lot higher up the asinine scale than dancing in the rain." I'm fairly sure that my jaw dropped open, as I twisted round in my seat to stare at Emmett.

"Edward did what?" I demanded, prompting a dazzling grin.

"I'll tell you as a bedtime story." All of a sudden, I felt ready for my pyjamas and some cocoa.

Esme didn't speak again until she pulled up in front of my house, where Emmett shot from his seat to open the passenger door and offer me his arm. Probably thanks to the bath, it didn't take me as long as I'd expected it to make our way up my driveway, to the front door. "Your present will be in your room" Emmett said, cryptically, in my opinion, as I pressed the doorbell, since I'd rather stupidly left my house keys at home. Nick had opened the door before I had a chance to ask him about a statement that had got my pulse racing just that little bit faster.

"You're back" Nick stated obviously, with a note of relief in his voice. Then, he spotted that Esme was in the car, and a sort of dazed expression overcame him, as he waved at her. Between Emmett on the doorstep and Esme in the car I could entirely see why he didn't take a blind bit of notice of the fact that I'd returned home looking nothing like how I'd left. I opened my mouth to ask Emmett to stay to a dinner that he wouldn't eat, when Esme beeped the horn on the car, and Emmett said, "Sorry for keeping Kate out so late, Mr. Davis, she's had lunch, and I hope to see her again real soon, if that's okay with you, sir?"

There was protest written all over my face, but Emmett just winked at me as Nick replied, "Hmm. Alright then, say thank you to your mom for bringing Kate home" before effectively shutting the door in Emmett's face. Then, he admitted grudgingly, "Well, they boy has manners, at least."

I heard the car accelerate, and mentally cursed Emmett for breaking his unspoken promise to me; he was supposed to sleep over tonight. I puzzled over his words at the same time, what present, and how was it getting into my room?

"Kate, I asked you a question."

Nick's voice interrupted my train of thought, and I ended up staring at him dumbly. "Sorry, what?"

He sighed, as if repeating his question was a major hardship, and asked again, "Why do you look different?"

Trust a man not to notice a complete change of outfit (Alice had even managed to find a pair of red flats that weren't agony for my feet to wear) along with an entirely different hairstyle. I reeled off a fake, yet believable, story to my step-dad, about playing in the garden with Renesmee despite the pouring rain, and Bella being kind enough to lend me some clothes, since the others were soaked.

"Well, you look very nice" he complimented, boiling the kettle, and taking two mugs out of the kitchen cupboard, "Did you say thank you to Isabella?"

"Bella" I corrected automatically, whilst nodding, "Yeah, I remembered to say thank you to Bella."

Nick made some tea, before guiding me to the living room, and putting the first disc of my Charmed, Series Four box set into the DVD player. Although my mind was seemingly on tea and the Charmed Ones, what I was really focusing on was projecting all my negative energy a couple of miles across the moors, straight into Edward's Volvo. And, trying to decipher Emmett's cryptic clue about the present in my room. And lamenting the fact that I wouldn't get to hear the story of Edwards exploits with the Volturi. But mostly, projecting my negative energy onto Emmett.

Nick came back to check on me barely twenty minutes into the first episode, I'm not even sure that Piper and Phoebe had discovered that Paige was their half sister yet, telling me, "Becky called for you six times today. She does have your mobile number, doesn't she?"

Of course Becky had my mobile number; best friends tend to have information like that about one another. However, I may have neglected to look at my phone all day, with everything that had gone on.

"She said that she'd come by, probably stay for dinner, about seven-ish."

Up until a few days ago Becky Clarke had been my confidante in anything and absolutely everything, the way that best friends usually are; it was with her that I'd spent the best part of last year squealing over Alex Phillips, and I'd known her just as long as I'd known him. But somehow, when she turned up in my living room later that night, when my mom was home, I felt like I was in a different solar system to her.

"A knife, Kate?" she asked incredulously, whilst my mom and step dad hovered in the doorway, on the pretence of seeing if we needed anything. "What was going on?"

She knew perfectly well what was going on, we'd spent quite a bit of time on Facebook that first afternoon, when I'd told her about the text message from Alex, and she'd gotten all excited. But she was just waiting for mom and Nick to disappear to the kitchen, so that she could interrogate me appropriately. Unbeknownst to her, I'd moved on about a million light-years from Alex, and I wasn't going to clue her in about Emmett, not ever.

"Go on then" she prompted, as soon as their heads had disappeared. She opened the living room window as she spoke, Becky hated being in rooms where there wasn't a 'constant supply of fresh air.' She flopped on the sofa next to me, adding, "Tell me everything."

I could barely even remember the colour of Alex's eyes, were they blue? Green, maybe? "Uh, yeah, he came round to see me the day that it happened."

The words were barely out of my mouth before Becky started hyperventilating, and flapping her hands hysterically. "No way!" she exclaimed, "What, you know, what happened?" Her face was suspicious, as though she knew I was hiding something from her.

I changed tack immediately, "God, yeah, it was great. He's so cute!"

Although I didn't believe the words at all, they were fabricated for her benefit; I hoped that my saying them would be punishing Emmett for leaving me. There was a freezing gust of wind through the open window, and it must have been my imagination, because I could have sworn that I felt him in that wind. I shook my head clear, and pretended that Alex Phillips was my heart's desire. Becky would have loved to know about Emmett, I knew that much, but he was the one special, private thing in my life, not to mention a vampire, and I knew that Becky would not even be able to begin to comprehend the strength of my feelings for Emmett. Like the best of best friends, it took a little while for the suspicious look on Becky's face to fade, but she was eventually dragged into the conversation that I'd created.

"Sorry about giving you your dinner on trays, girls" my mom apologised, bringing a baked potato and salad in for me and Bex, "But Kate isn't particularly mobile at the moment."

"Oh, it's no problem, Lou" Becky replied, digging in.

Whilst my mom and my best friend did some catching up, I stared morosely at the plate. It wasn't just that I was still full from the three course lunch that I'd gorged on earlier, but it looked distinctly less appealing than everything that Esme had made for me.

"Did you have a nice time today?" my mom asked, and I nodded my head, praying that she wouldn't go into the details of my day, at least, not while Becky was around. But, naturally, with her motor mouth, she had to go and drop me in it. "Did you eat at the Cullens' today? Is that why you're not hungry?"

Becky through me a sharp look over her fork full of potato, as I muttered, "Yeah, Esme made lasagne."

"Well, I'll just go and..." my mom trailed off, before exiting the room quickly and quietly.

Becky rounded on me. "I knew you weren't telling me something! New friends?"

More like, new future family, who, by the way, were supernatural creatures.

My actual reply was less fantastical. "Nobody special, just some people who've moved into town. They have a couple of kids. Alice, I was hanging out with her today."

And then she asked me the dreaded question. "Do they have any boys our age?"

She asked the question in good faith, but it took me less than a split second to decide to lie to her. "No, just girls." Her face fell, making me feel terrible. It wasn't right to outright lie to my best friend, but equally, I felt very possessive of Emmett, and the less people who knew about us, the better.

"Hey, this Alice, is she going to be in school in September?"

"I don't know" I replied honestly. At the moment, I couldn't see past the end of my nose, let alone months into the future.

"Maybe we could all hang out together sometime."

I couldn't outright say 'no', not without hurting Becky's feelings, or making it seem like I had something to hide, so I made a bunch of non-committal noises. "Bex, I know it's like eight, but I'm still on co-codamol, and it makes me tired, so is it okay if you call me tomorrow? I just want to get into my pyjamas and fall asleep." Alienating my best friend was not an easy thing to do, but by chanting, 'I'm doing this for me and Emmett' over and over again in my head, I was able to bear the hurt expression on her face, as she left the room to find my mom for her lift home.

"Nice to see you hanging out with your old friends again" Nick commented, bringing me the cocoa I'd requested, and taking away the tray that had my untouched dinner left on it. "I was beginning to think that you'd ditched them all for the Cullens."

Oh, if only he knew that one day soon I'd be ditching them all to run off into the proverbial sunset with the Cullens, as their equal, and finally capable of loving Emmett the way that I wanted to. "Yeah, well, I've known Becky since forever, haven't I?" I faked a smile, and then a yawn. "Thanks for the cocoa, by the way, sorry for commandeering the living room again." My mom and Nick would eat in the kitchen, and they were perfectly capable of watching the TV in their bedroom, but I still felt guilty about my monopoly of the principal room of the house.

Nick said goodnight to me, and then I lay in the dark quiet of room until my mom came back, opening the front door noisily, and then almost bellowing, "Oh, is Kate asleep, Nick?" She opened the door of the living room, letting in a beam of light from the hallway. She crossed the room more quietly, closing the open window, then kissed me lightly on the forehead. I kept my eyes shut, as if were asleep, since I wasn't in the mood to be chatty with her. "Goodnight sweetie" she murmured softly, stroking my straight hair. I heard her breath catch, probably as she caught sight of the necklace resting in the hollow of my throat.

As soon as she closed the door behind her my eyes flashed open. I lay, staring up at the ceiling, as though my life depended on it, until I was aware of a slight depression at the bottom of the sofa. My eyes moved tired along the sofa, only for me to blink four or five times at what I saw there.

"You think he's cute?" Emmett pretty much spat, causing me to become even more puzzled than I already was. That was a lot of puzzled. "Alex Phillips is a pathetic, weakling human whose neck I could break as soon as look at him. For heaven's sake, Ness could break his neck, I could crush his bones to dust." All this was said at a volume that I would have missed, if a car had passed by on the road outside.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded, pulling my duvet up around my chin, firstly because having Emmett around meant that I'd get cold soon, but mainly because my pyjamas consisted of an old Spice Girls t-shirt of my mom's, and particularly unattractive and tiny shorts. As I pulled up the duvet, I realised exactly what he was going on about. "Oh! Emmett, don't be an idiot! Becky was here, I had to lie."

Emmett's expression wasn't any less satisfied, I thought he was probably imagining smashing Alex's face to a pulp. "Funny" I whispered, "I didn't have you down for the jealous type." I ran my finger lightly across Emmett's cheek, the way I knew that he liked. Although I prompted a growl from his throat I knew he was always going to be like that. It figured, if any girls name other than my own (I wasn't counting Esme, Ness, Alice and Bella) ever crossed Emmett's lips ever again, I would not be held responsible for my actions. "Where's my present?" I demanded, my voice low since my mom and Nick hadn't gone up to bed yet.

"And I'm the idiot?" Emmett questioned, sprawling out on the sofa, now that he was less tightly wound up, "I've been up there for hours, I thought you might have gotten the hint." I felt terrible, because Emmett was all the present that I'd ever need, and I'd left him up there on his own all evening, and evidently, he'd had to hear me say all those things about Alex.

"Oh, Emmett, I'm so sorry. I can be insanely dense sometimes."

Emmett scooped me up into his lap, duvet and all, and I leaned my head against his marble cheek. "You're not dense, baby, you're just not used to the whole vampire thing quite yet." I could hear the accent in Emmett's voice when he called me 'baby', it was mostly concealed other than that. It sounded nice.

"Say that again, would you?" I asked, positioning my mouth on his bottom lip.

He moved, so that his mouth was close to my ear enough to nibble my earlobe, before repeating, "You're not dense, baby, you're just not used to the whole vampire thing quite yet." He made to move me off his lap when a shiver went down my spine, but I whimpered rather pathetically.

"That wasn't a cold shiver, it was a pleasure shiver."

He gave me the benefit of the doubt, and I was perfectly content to sit on his lap, feeling his cool breath on my neck, whilst he told me all about Edward in Italy, along with Alec, Jane, Demitri, Felix, and the ever-mentioned Aro, Caius and Marcus. I couldn't tell when my eyes got heavy, I was so intent on staying up all night. The tone of Emmett's voice never changed once, and he never stopped for breath, just kept on talking to me, until at some point my eyes drifted shut, and dreams of Emmett took the place of his real life counterpart.


	14. Fourteenth

**A/N: It's that time again where you read, and review, if you're a nice person, and then I wait patiently for people to say constructive things. So, off you go!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Fate just isn't that nice to me. **

When I woke up in the morning I was tucked up under my duvet, my head turned to one side on my pillow, as usual, but despite that, I was oddly cool. "Emmett" I murmured, recalling that he'd kept his promise to me, told me that he'd never gotten back in the car with Esme, but hidden in my room until it seemed safe. Nick must have had his ear pressed to the living room door, because he entered asking, "Did you say something, Kate?" with a sore expression on his face, as if he knew exactly what I'd said.

"No" I replied hastily, pulling the duvet tighter around my shoulders, wondering when Emmett had left, and where he was now. "I didn't say anything." Nick threw me a disbelieving glance, before lifting the bottom end of the duvet and looking at my foot.

"When did Dr. Cullen say that you should get those stitches out?" he asked, throwing the living room curtains open.

"He said they should dissolve" I answered, wiggling the more recently injured foot. It didn't really hurt any more, just a slight twinge to remind me to keep my temper in check.

"You didn't make any plans for the day, did you?" my step-dad enquired, not waiting for a response, "Because I think that your mom arranged for Becky to come by again today, since you had so little time last night."

I could hardly have said, 'Oh, I'm really sorry, but my soul-mate, the guy I met about four days ago and who happens to be a vampire, yeah well, he's going hunting tomorrow, so if you don't mind, I'd rather spend my every waking breath with him.' I would have been committed. So, instead, I shrugged and said, "I didn't have any particular plans." I also didn't want to say, 'Sorry, but since Emmett entered my life I've found every other person quite boring and insipid, so I most definitely do not want to spend hours discussing totally inane subjects with Rebecca Clarke' so I controlled myself, and instead spouted, "I've missed her so much recently."

The time was nine twenty five, and I'd told Alice to drop by any time after ten, on the pretence of bringing back my own clothes, and then offering for Esme to take us out (of course, at fifteen, Alice couldn't drive, despite the fact that I'd found out yesterday that her Porsche was her most prized possession.) Nick would, naturally, be a problem, what with Becky being a 'prior engagement' and I anticipated that he'd suggest Alice staying here, getting to know Becky, us all hanging out together. The missing figure in this equation was Emmett, and the fact that, have I already mentioned that he was leaving me very shortly, to go and do vampire things? He wouldn't be here to breathe down my neck, or kiss my throat, or pick me up so irritatingly easily, so I had to have a lot of that today.

I was on the verge of calling Alice and asking her what she saw, when my phone rang, and her number flashed up on the caller I.D. "Morning Kate" she greeted me chirpily, "Okay, so I'm going to get to yours before Becky, and tell your step-dad that Carlisle wants to see you because of your foot, and then I'll whisk you back off to ours, so get ready to fake major foot pain, okay?"

"Sure thing Alice" I answered, as we hung up our phones in sync. Perhaps, if I went upstairs to go and get dressed, I could then use that as an excuse when Alice asked to pack me off to the doctor. Not that Nick would refuse her, just like all the other Cullen women, she was beautiful in the extreme, with a face that it was impossible to say 'no' to.

Getting up the stairs was physically strenuous, and when I got to the top, I realised how long I'd been stuck on that sofa, because the upstairs landing was as unfamiliar to me as the surface of the moon. My room was ridiculously inviting, seeing my bed for the first time in days was a very emotional experience, heightened by the knowledge that Emmett had been in this very room, breathing the same air. I made a mental note to ask him how he'd managed to sneak back into my house without my noticing, as I happily threw open my wardrobe doors. There was a slight attack by some stray shoes, but as they missed my feet, and the arm that Esme had yanked, I didn't mind. "What to wear? What to wear?" I mumbled under my breath, flinging shoes out of the wardrobe. Why had Alice made me look so nice yesterday? I couldn't reproduce it.

I decided to base my ensemble on the available footwear, which was not all that much. It seemed I'd never really considered having feet that had stitches and sprains in them before; knee length boots, three inch heels and Converse just weren't suitable. And then I caught sight of a box that definitely hadn't been there the last time that I'd been in my wardrobe. Kneeling down I pulled the lid from the box; it contained a pair of grey flats, made of fabric, with no top, so they couldn't push against the tenderness of my wound, or its stitches. Taped to the underside of the lid was a slip of paper. I yanked the sellotape off the box lid, and opened the paper up. The note was very short: 'Third on the left. Emmett.'

Standing up, I pushed the clothes on the rail as far right as they would go, then flicked through. Item number One: the outfit Alice had lent me, which Nick must have hung up for me last night. Item number Two: the midnight purple taffeta dress which I'd already bought, and had planned to wear to my Leavers' Ball next July. Item number Three: something that I didn't own. The tags were still on it; a pale silver, off the shoulder jersey dress. Armani. I turned the tag over in my hand, then dropped it. Who spent _that _amount of money on a dress? The answer was obvious: Alice Cullen. I slipped the dress off the hanger, hugging it to my chest. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Alice" I whispered, laying it out on the bed. I put the shoes on the floor beneath it, then reached up and undid the necklace and earrings. I made a little pile of them on the dress, careful not to catch the material. Then I sped, (or more accurately, hobbled as fast as the pain would allow) into my bathroom.

The horrible thing about washing my hair was that it went curly again. Not that I had anything against curly hair, but I'd decided that having it straight made a pleasant change. And, of course, curly hair wasn't really conducive to a flat fringe, and boy had Alice cut it in well! Once again it was a little awkward getting out of the shower, considering half of me was already leaning out of it, putting my balance off. But I managed it, though my towel rail might have played a rather large role. I dried my hair as thoroughly as I could with a towel, then, wondering back into my room, switched my straightners on. My plan was to straighten the fringe, and leave the body of my hair curly, and it worked, I think. Well, after some more marathon brushing, the effect was picturesque, hopefully.

I didn't want to drop make-up over the highly expensive dress, so I kept the towel wrapped around me, and perched on the edge of my bed, opposite my dressing table, attempting to remember what Alice had done with my make-up yesterday. I had pink gloss, but none of my cosmetics were the same as hers. For example, I was fairly sure that she'd used Lancôme Hypnose on my eyelashes, and I only had Urban Decay. I made the best of what was at my disposal, but my eyes didn't look as defined, or my cheek bones as sharp as when Alice had done my make-up. When I had done my best, it was time for the dress. My hands shut with total excitement as it slipped over me, and the neckline fell across my collarbone. The fit was exact, the hem falling just above my knee caps, just short enough to be worn with flats, but not too short. It made me feel like a princess.

I inched my way back down the stairs, and although Alice had only asked me to fake major foot pain, I could go one better than good acting, because my foot was starting to tingle, I could feel it through the bandage.

I'd been in the living room maybe two seconds when I heard a car pull up. Today when the doorbell rang, Nick was there instantaneously, and opening the door he greeted, "Hi Beck-" He was cut short by the fact that it was Alice standing on the doorstep.

"Hi, Mr. Davis" she chirped, her high, clear voice carrying through to the living room, so that I could hear her. "Sorry to stop by unannounced." There was a pause as Nick mumbled something unintelligible to me, probably something to the effect that it was no problem, and that she was free to drop by whenever she liked. "Is Kate in?" she asked, at which Nick called, in a voice on the point of breaking, "Kate! You have a visitor!"

I did a 'surprised' face, on seeing Alice, because, of course, I was expecting Becky, not her. "Hey Alice" I said, the now pained expression on my face not fake at all, "Sorry I'm moving so slowly, my foot doesn't feel all that great."

She faked a sympathetic smile, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. That's the reason I'm here actually, Carlisle was adamant that I fetch you for a check-up after you spent all day playing with Nessie in the garden. He just wants to check that you didn't mess it up any further."

More pained facial expressions, and only thirty seconds of Nick worrying about Becky, before I was using Alice as a crutch (helpfully, she fit nicely underneath my shoulder) to manoeuvre down the driveway into the waiting Mercedes.

"Carlisle at home?" I questioned, seeing that it once again Esme driving.

"Nick would have wondered why Carlisle couldn't have checked you over in your house if he'd come himself." It wasn't fair that in addition to being so incredibly beautiful, these people were smart as well.

"Morning Kate" Esme said, "Did you get a good night's sleep?" I remembered that Edward had asked the exact same question, and wondered if the fact that they didn't sleep themselves gave them an obscene interest in other people's sleeping patterns.

"I slept fine, thank you." At least there was no Edward to pick my dreams out of my head and laugh at me. Since Esme had mentioned it, I tried to remember how I had slept, but my brain wouldn't cooperate with me. I knew that I had fallen asleep, and that Emmett had been there when that happened, and I knew that I'd had wonderful dreams about him, but that didn't really define the quality of my sleep. It was infuriating though, when there was so little time before he abandoned me, my body insisted on using a chunk of that time for sleep, and his didn't.

On this third visit to the Cullen residence, I was beginning to feel at home. Nessie and Bella hugged me in quick succession, the difference in their temperatures striking, when experienced in such close proximity. Edward looked up from the piano that he was playing, smiled, albeit briefly, and then continued to weave his melody. It was horrendously beautiful, almost bringing tears to my eyes. Jasper seemed in two minds as to whether it was appropriate to hug me or not, but Alice chivvied him on, prophesising, "You can cope. Don't worry, she's family."

And then, Emmett was sat with his adoptive father in the kitchen, their heads together, as if they were naughty school boys planning how best to prank a teacher. The image was only intensified by the way that they sprang apart when they saw me enter. Shouldn't they have smelt me, or heard my footsteps ages before they'd seen me? The mind of a vampire truly boggled me.

"Hello Kate" Carlisle greeted warmly, his youthful complexion glowing. Was it really wrong that I found Emmett's dad so thoroughly attractive? But seeing him with Esme I knew that they'd been made for one another, as with Alice and Jasper, Bella and Edward, and Emmett and I.

"You disappeared before I woke up this morning" I accused, touching the hand that was on the surface of the kitchen table. As ever, it was cool to the touch, and solid.

"No I didn't" Emmett countered, slipping his arm around my waist, and hugging me just a little bit too tightly to be considered comfortable. "You woke up very briefly at half six, and I said goodbye, because, well, I couldn't trust my self control any longer." He felt that way even when I was asleep? Bizarre. "Your mom and your step-dad have both got strong feelings about me" he commented amusedly, "Nick, he really doesn't like me very much, does he?"

My anger flared, as I realised that once again, Emmett had been forced to hear things which I'd rather he didn't. "What did he say?" I asked, rather calmly, in my own opinion.

"He seems to think that I'm dangerous" Emmett chuckled, tracing icy patterns on the bare skin of my arms. "Do you like the dress?"

He was changing the subject, even I could see that, and I didn't appreciate it. I wanted to know exactly what had been said whilst my mind had been in Italy, so that I could forcefully eliminate all qualms on either my mom or Nick's part when I got home. "I assume that you had Alice's help?" I replied acidly, as Emmett's eyes darted around the kitchen in fake guilt.

"Guilty as charged" he responded playfully.

"And now for your punishment" I said lightly, "I want to know exactly what my mom and Nick said last night to hurt your feelings."

Edward, walking into the kitchen, snorted. "Hurt his feelings?" he repeated derisively, "Please! Kate, all it does is inflate his already oversized ego; he absolutely loves the fact that your step-father would rather that you didn't spend so much time with us."

Insanely, Edward sounded like he might actually be correct.

"It's true" Emmett admitted mournfully, "I love nothing more than being viewed with suspicion and distrust. It's how I get my kicks."

And that was part of the reason why I loved him so uncontrollably; he loved who he was, which only made it easier for me to love him. Sometimes it seemed to me that being in love with a vampire was a much simpler concept than being in love with a human.


	15. Fifteenth

**A/N: Having actually written this absolutely ages ago, I felt it was high time I made a sacrifice and sat down at my computer and typed it up, despite my immense exhaustion, and the sheer number of things going on in my life. Yes, you proabably have to go back to the beginning and read it all over again jsut to remember what's happened so far, and I in no way blame you if you can't be bothered, it's my own lazy fault. But, if you do want to read it, here it is.**

**Disclaimer: Again, Kate and various other minor characters belong to me, everybody else is owned by the incredible Ms. Meyers.**

"It'll be tonight."

Alice's voice dragged me from the photo albums of Nessie, puzzling me.

"What'll be tonight?"I asked, as Emmett's mouth curved into grin, a delectably kissable grin, but Alice was still commanding my full attention.

"Demitri," Edward filled in the gap for me, "He's fast. Almost as fast as me."

He was that quick? Really?

"Chill," Emmett ordered, feeling my body tense up next to his.

"Do you want us there?" Alice asked, her face no longer blank and unreadable.

"We could help" Edward offered, "If you need us to?"

I assumed that by 'us' he meant he and Alice, as opposed to a full Cullen/Hale family reunion.

"What's everybody so worked up over?" Emmett demanded, "Dude, we have physical strength," he tapped his own chest, "And mind control," he put his left hand on my shoulder, "What more could we possibly need?"

A dark look passed between Edward and Alice, and Edward nodded, presumably at Alice's thought. "You're right, he's back."

As much confidence as I had in Emmett, I couldn't help but be wary of the unconditional faith he seemed to have in my power, a power that I'd rather avoid using, and which I didn't think I could properly control. Although, I thought that my reluctance to exert control over people's minds might diminish in the presence of this tracking nightmare that was apparently going to find me so alluring.

"Well, keep your phones close" Alice grumbled, a noise which didn't suit her clear, soprano voice.

"And Emmett?" Edward started, his eyes flickering between us, "Try and keep the thoughts clean, I am a happily married man, thank you."

I ignored the wink that Emmett returned his brother, for fear of flushing red, choosing instead to turn my eyes back to the album, of a tiny Nessie dressed in the most delightful outfits. Alice must have had something to do with that, no doubt.

"Love is so…weird" I commented randomly, thinking of Bella and Edward, and contrasting their behaviour with that of Emmett and I, in my head. The images were startlingly different. Both Emmett and his brother were protective, I could see that, and they both had an unrivalled capacity for love, but the ways which that love manifested itself was truly different. It was like Edward's lullaby for Bella. Whilst it suited them down to the ground, and was beautiful in the same way that their love for each other was, it wasn't the same brand of love that Emmett and I had for one another. I had a very different tune in my head to express the love I felt for Emmett, I just couldn't convey it musically like Edward could.

"You're weird" Emmett countered, trying to read my expression, which was really lost between a mixture of Bella's lullaby, and mine, "Beautiful, weird, brave, smart, silly, perfect. You're all of those things."

I whacked his shoulder; I didn't mind him _thinking _those things, but did he really need to say them out loud so that everybody could hear?

"And you" I returned, closing the album on his my lap, "You, words can't describe." It was true, there wasn't word in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, Gaelic, Latin or Ancient Greek that came close to describing even the physical things, like the tone of his voice, or his unique stature, let alone the other things like his humour, or his touch.

"You're really not scared? About Demitri?" he asked, his eyes appraising me, searching for any sign of anxiety.

"I'm really not scared" I answered, twisting his hand around my own, my mind automatically relating the coolness with Emmett, and Emmett with safety. I was probably one of the very few people on the planet, who, therefore, connected coldness with safety.

"You can tell me you know" he probed, "If you're scared."

I was in no way scared of Demitri, I had far too much faith in Emmett to be anxious in any way; what I really worried about was that the future would digress from the path that Alice had seen, and I would stay the weak and human Katherine Taylor, whilst my new family stayed frozen as their glorious selves, only to leave in a few years, leaving my life without any form light. But again, I'd rather not let Emmett know my silly insecurities, so I just shook my head as firmly as I could and promised, "I'd like to see Demitri try and hurt me whilst you're by side." Although I'd rather it weren't in my house, not with my mom and Nick all vulnerable and asleep upstairs. I'd still like to have seen a confrontation between this Demitri and Emmett. I wasn't sadistic enough to actually want to see another creature ripped to shreds in front of my eyes, it would be further unnecessary proof of Emmett's immense power.

"Sadly, " Emmett predicted, "You don't get to join to join the ranks of the Volturi if you're not smart; Demitri wouldn't be stupid enough to pick a fight with me, not one to one. He's a tracker, not a fighter."

Carlisle interrupted us by entering the living the room from upstairs. "Hello again Kate" he said, his dark eyes now looking me over, "How's that foot of yours?"

Thinking about it now that he'd asked the question, I supposed that I was actually in quite a bit of pain, I just hadn't noticed being with Emmett. "Painful" I responded, wiggling my toes and then instantly regretting it. My foot burnt, the pain showing through on my screwed up face.

"And all this because of Alex Phillips" Emmett stated scornfully, although I could see in his distressed face, that he did not relish the fact that I was in pain.

My next few sentences were garbled and incoherent, until I finally managed to articulate well enough to shriek "Edward." I don't think that it had been my actual intention for the word to bring its namesake sauntering into the living room, but it did regardless.

"Would you mind bringing the pitch down two or three octaves please, Kate?" he all but laughed.

"I am not you friend right now" I informed him through gritted teeth, "I can't believe you told them!"

He smiled at me, then admitted, "I didn't. But I probably should have. I missed a trick there." So, if Edward hadn't been Emmett's source of information, and neither he nor Carlisle could do the mind-reading thing, how?

"Becky Clarke" Edward supplied helpfully, confirming my suspicions, "She spoke to you about it last night, whilst Emmett was in your bedroom. Rifling through your draws, might I add?"

Carlisle grinned patiently as Emmett flew off the sofa at Edward, slamming into the wall the fireplace was situated on, as Edward sidestepped his move effortlessly. "Take it outside boys" Carlisle told them, waving a hand towards the garden, "Your mother will kill us all if you break any of her artwork."

Edward and Emmett were growling at one another, in jest hopefully, as they both shot through the glass doors into the garden. I watched them fondly, greatly tempted to take away Edward's natural advantage over his brother. Alice and Ness looked on, the fight having interrupted the display of gymnastics that they'd been performing. "Let's sort you out shall we, Kate?" Carlisle asked rhetorically, "And then we can sort those two out."

I hadn't realised that the Cullens' house had a basement, although it had never actually occurred to me to ask, not with trying to adjust to the difference in their, well, state of mortality. The trap door leading to it was underneath a heavy rug and Carlisle stepped gracefully into the 15 foot hole, landing as lightly as a cat, before turning his face up towards me sheepishly. "I apologise, Kate" he offered, "I forget that you're not as physically capable as the rest of my family, quite yet. Would you rather a ladder, or would you like me to come back up for you?"

I dithered, debating the advantages of the ladder (I wouldn't look entirely useless) as opposed to having Carlisle carry me (It would probably hurt less.) "If you don't mind…?" I started apologetically, at which Carlisle sprang back up to me, and adrenaline pumped through me as I dropped into the darkness.

"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked, pulling on a light cord. I blinked to adjust my eyes to the high watt light bulb, then peered around my new surroundings. "Welcome to my hospital" Carlisle greeted, as I took in the bare white furniture, including a hospital bed and IV drip.

"Do you deal with medical emergencies at home often?" I asked, as Carlisle appointed to the bed, evidently suggesting that I hop onto it.

"I like to be prepared. Especially after Bella and Nessie. Lucky really, I wouldn't want my family to be made uncomfortable with your scent, if I were to treat you in my study." I wondered whether Carlisle was naturally that kind and nurturing, or whether it had taken time for him to develop that level of consideration. Either way, I hero-worshipped him for it. Carlisle's gentle hands explored my injured foot patiently, whilst I looked searchingly into his face. There was absolutely no trace of discomfort, or bloodlust. I was in awe. "I've been doing this for a long time" Carlisle explained wrapping a fresh bandage around my slowly healing wound, "One can adjust to anything, given constant exposure and time." I was all finished up before I really got to learn anything about Carlisle's different lifestyle choice. "Now, I know that it's difficult not exposing your bandages to moisture, but you really must try and keep it dry for as long as you can. And come straight back to me the second it gets wet; your foot will heal faster."

When we returned to the natural light of the living room we could still hear Edward and Emmett settling their dispute outside, very vocally. "Get over it bro', Bella's great, but Kate's out of her league." Cue my heart dancing madly in my chest, with such a lack of rhythm that everybody in the garden turned to face me. "Hey babe!" Emmett hollered, bounding towards me with indescribable exuberance. I was steeling myself to be crushed into a fierce hug once again, but he stopped, maybe seven feet away from me, as if he'd slammed into a glass wall. "Jeez" he breathed, his face distorting in immense pain, "You guys trying to kill me?"

Carlisle closed his eyes, opening his mouth and gulping down air, then grimacing. "Sorry son, I hadn't realised Kate was quite that potent." It upset me, Emmett keeping his distance like that, even though it was entirely in my own interest, and meant that he wasn't sinking his teeth into my neck. "I'm going to go and bleach the basement, just as a precaution."

To the best of my knowledge, not one drop of my blood lingered anywhere in the house, apart from on my foot. Emmett approached me cautiously, Bella at one elbow, Edward at the other. "You're doing great" Bella soothed, as they inched closer towards me, signs of distress now showing through on their faces too.

"I'm so, so sorry" I apologised weakly, rubbing my arm self-consciously, "I tried to avoid a situation like this, I really did, but when Carlisle asked…" My unfinished sentence just built more tension inside the room.

"No blood, no foul" Emmett replied, the chuckle that followed sort of hollow.

"Seriously though" I asked, "Can't you just douse my foot in bleach too?" The thought of bleach seeping through my bandages and into my knife wound was pretty unbearable, but not as unbearable as the sight of three completely famished vampires closing the small space between us. Without Carlisle in the room I felt vulnerable, and for the first time ever, truly terrified of Emmett and his family. "Where's Jasper and Alice?" I asked conversationally, trying to keep my tone light.

"They went out" Bella informed me, her voice slightly hoarse.

"Oh." I couldn't think of anything else to say, until Bella, Edward and Emmett were standing right in front of me, three pairs of black eyes blazing into my face. The worst case scenario would be that they would be overcome by their apparent thirst, and devour me on the spot. The best case was that all of a sudden I would become far less attractive to them for whatever reason, and they would no longer have any interest in my blood. That, I think, was too much to hope for.

"I understand" Edward whispered, confusing me. Did he understand that I was absolutely scared witless, or was that some thought of Emmett or Carlisle's that he was responding to? Emmett reached out a trembling hand, and the sight petrified me. Vampires didn't tremble. They were graceful and elegant, and they did not tremble. And then, keeping his eyes firmly closed, and evidently not breathing, he wound my hair around his fingers. His hand still shook, but little by little, I saw the muscles in his arms unbunch, and then his eyes slowly opened. His mouth spread into a triumphant grin, marred by vestiges of pain.

"You owe me the Vanquish for an entire month" he stated matter-of-factly at Edward, who was still at his arm, very close.

"At least he's learning a bit of control" Bella reminded Edward, who grumbled as he handed over his car keys. I had no idea what he was complaining about; wasn't I the one who had just stood in front of three vampires with a wound that might have well been open?

"And you doubted me, little sister" Emmett crowed, much more at ease, as if he were becoming used to the smell, merely for suffering it for so long. "Didn't you? I saw it in your eyes." Bella shook her head emphatically, though Emmett wasn't buying it. "Good job Alice saw it coming though, Jazz would have gone mental."

Edward raised an eyebrow, as if to doubt the call of my blood, despite the fact that he had evidently felt it just moments ago. "It would have been no worse than Bella and her paper cut."

Emmett laughed scornfully, replying, "Oh come on bro'! Who're you kidding? Jazz would have drained her in a second, no question. She just smells better than Bella, it's a fact."

"No" his brother answered aggressively, "She smells better to you, not to everybody else."

"Great" Bella sighed, her eyes together with the bruising underneath them giving her beautiful face a look of exhaustion, "We are literally never going to hear the end of this." I flopped down on the sofa next to her. It seemed we were in for a long afternoon.


	16. Sixteenth

**A/N: So, I have this thing where, whenever I see a good movie I feel the need to write. This, therefore, is dedicated to 'The Blind Side' and a lot of thanks goes to Sandra Bullock for her inspirational acting. That's not to say that there's anything of the movie in this Chapter, or that there will be anything of the movie in any of this story, just that a good movie refuels my creative instincts, and 'The Blind Side' was deeply touching. So, any praise (if any) you might have for this is shared.**

**Disclaimer: What I wrote the other day still stands.**

"I cannot believe you!" I exclaimed, thinking better of poking Emmett in the chest, (no, that wasn't a stab-proof vest he was wearing under there, that was just him) "I blow off my best friend of forever to spend the day with you, and you spend the entire time pointlessly arguing with your brother!" With Bella doing her 'raised eyebrows, I'm a scary vampire' routine on Edward, they were both sheepish within seconds.

"Sorry Kate" Emmett offered, his eyes atoning for his sin.

"Yes, I'm sorry Bella" Edward echoed, and Bella must have been made of much stronger stuff than I was, because whilst I was reassuring Emmett that it was fine, and that boys would be boys, Bella was still scowling.

"Apologise to Kate" she demanded of her husband, thoroughly confusing me. Yes, so Edward hadn't been the nicest of the Cullens, but so what? I quite liked the fact that I had someone to argue with light heartedly, it kept the whole vampire, beauty, strength, love thing from becoming too banal. Emmett chuckled slightly, as Bella prompted, "You've been absolutely terrible to Kate, and I don't like it one bit. As much as you might not want to admit it, Kate is just as much a member of this family as I am; she's a part of Emmett now. So, you can stop this behaviour right this second, do you understand me?" Her tone reminded me of a teacher speaking to a young child; it had that particular sharp edge.

"I apologise unreservedly" Edward said sincerely, "And I ask that you forgive my behaviour towards you, I've been awfully rude."

I glanced at Bella, who smiled encouragingly, before I replied, "Uh, yeah. Sure." My words had very little elegance unlike his, but I soothed myself by remembering that his diction was straight out of the early 20th Century, whilst mine was the speech of a normal person.

"I mean it Edward" Bella threatened, "It ends here."

I looked awkwardly at Edward, before holding out my hand. "Truce?" I offered, and he put his cold, hard hand into mine, his touch light as a breath of air, as he consciously remembered that I was not exactly capable of dealing with the crushing handshake he could have inflicted on me, if he'd so wished.

"Home time, you" Emmett ordered, after I'd stood for a brief moment of time feeling uneasy in Edward's presence. "I'd rather Jasper isn't in the same room as you for a little while, and they've been gone ages."

It was scary to think that Jasper might have totally lost it whilst I was at the Cullens', that he might have killed me. Given the few days that I'd had to let the whole 'vampire' thing percolate, pretty much everything was beginning to feel scarier, Emmett's erratic driving included.

"I thought you were visiting Dr. Cullen?" Nick accused, when I let Emmett and myself into the house.

"Unsurprisingly," I answered drily, "Emmett Cullen lives in the same house as Dr. Cullen. Crazy coincidence, or what?"

Emmett smiled wryly, as Nick commented, "There's no need to be flippant, Kate." This was followed by a few seconds of awkward procrastination as Emmett looked around the hallway coolly, I bore my teeth at Nick, and Nick tried to project an air of authority on the two of us. "What did Dr. Cullen say?" Nick finally asked sullenly, leading the way into the kitchen.

"Need to keep it drier" I answered, declining the tea that Nick offered, so that it didn't look so out of place when Emmett refused also.

"How's your mother?" Nick enquired of Emmett, and I noticed a distinct difference in Emmett's voice when he answered, "She's very well, thank you sir", it was slightly higher, and a little less rough.

It seemed to put Nick at ease. "So, what are you kids going to do now?" my step-dad asked, causing a little internal chuckle; I was pretty much past childhood bow, and, well Emmett? Emmett looked as far away from childhood as was physically possible. "Because," he steamed on, stirring sugar into his mug, "If you're just going to stay at home, Becky can come over, and maybe your little sister Alice as well, and you could watch a DVD, get a pizza, all hang out together."

I was frantically opposed to this plan of action; Becky and the Cullens was a combination that I was trying my very hardest to avoid, and neither Alice nor Emmett would thank me if they were forced into eating pizza. However, Emmett wanted me to stay at home, if his facial expression was anything to go by. "I want to go out Emmett" I moaned, at which Nick turned sharply towards me and raised his eyebrows. "Please?" I added sweetly, Emmett's face descending into turmoil; keep Kate at home where she can't do any more damage to herself, or give Kate exactly what she wants.

"How about," he tested, "We stay here for today, and then we'll go out tomorrow?" Nick's face was now the picture of confusion, like he wanted to know why Emmett was acting with such deference to me, when he was clearly a few rungs higher on the evolutionary ladder than me.

"Does Becky have to come over?" I asked, not understanding how entirely spoiled I sounded, having gotten used to having my every whim catered to at the Cullens' house.

"Katie." The word, from the corner of Emmett's mouth, was in an extremely low, warning tone telling me not to push Nick, since the vein in his temple was beginning to thud worryingly.

"Okay, okay" I conceded, slipping my hand into Emmett's. He squeezed it very gently, and suddenly I felt ashamed of my outburst of petulance. "Sorry," I murmured, managing a little smile. Nick's eyebrows furrowed even further, and he shook his head, as if he were trying to shake off a bad nightmare. "What?" I demanded, seeing Nick staring at me.

"Nothing. Nothing at all," he denied, turning his back to us, to get a biscuit. I turned to fully face Emmett (my body's orientation was already angled on a slight bias towards him) and tilted my head questioningly. He shook his head at me, his mouth in a tight line to stop himself from laughing.

"We'll be in the living room, if you need us" I told Nick, letting him know that he was free to continue working, without feeling that he needed to babysit us. He grumbled as we left, just as he'd taken to grumbling at most things that I'd said and done in the past week or so. "You know," I commented, as Emmett closed the living room door tightly behind himself, "I really don't understand him sometimes."

Emmett chuckled a little and retorted, "Not as much as he doesn't understand us." A little thrill went through me at his last word; 'us' suggested one entity rather than two separate beings, and that pretty much summed up the way that I felt about Emmett. "I mean, I'm no mind reader, but I did major in Psychology at one of the colleges that I went to, Yale, I think, so I can say with fair confidence that your step-father is entirely puzzled by the advanced state of our relationship." He paused for a second, while I contemplated that Emmett had just let slip that he had attended Yale at some point in the past, before he added as an afterthought, "And, of course, he instinctively hates me."

That hurt me, even though there was no direct offense to me; as if I were somehow crazy to love a vampire so wholeheartedly, and want to stay with him for the rest of eternity, rather than running away screaming.

"I really don't want Becky to meet you" I pouted, remembering the sticky situation we had found ourselves in, and disliking Nick intensely for causing it.

"I know you don't" Emmett soothed, his onyx black eyes piercing into mine, as if he, like Edward, could read not only my mind, but also my soul. "I'll leave in a minute, and go hide out in your bedroom, if you care to join me?"

I chuckled at the perfect sounding plan; no Becky, a Nick that wasn't breathing down my neck, Emmett and me. In fact, it sounded like paradise. "I really don't think you understand how much I love you" I claimed, hugging Emmett tightly, needing him with every atom in my body.

"Oh," he returned simply, "I think I do. Honestly." It wasn't a competition, I knew that, but as a supernatural being, Emmett did everything better than did, with very little effort; I just wanted loving him to be the thing that I did best. A cool pair of lips on my forehead calmed me, whilst I simply gazed, losing myself in Emmett's eyes. There's something unnerving about staring at someone, especially when they stare back at you, unblinking. Emmett naturally won the staring game, whilst I tried to define where his irises met his pupils, and whether there was, in fact, any difference at all between the two shades of black.

"Kate?" I felt as though I was being dragged from a dream, (Maybe I was? Maybe Emmett was an impossibly perfect figment of my imagination?) as though I'd been on an entirely different planet for the past five minutes. There was that amused smile that I coveted so much, tugging at the corners of Emmett's mouth. "Kate? Are you listening to me?"

I think it was fairly safe to say that, no, I was not listening to him, I was having a semi out-of-body experience, trying to figure out whether or not anything existed, and giving myself a killer headache in the process. "Sorry," I apologised, "I was being philosophical."

Emmett repeated what he'd said to me, the main jist of which was that Nick was outside the door, and he thought that should be his cue to depart. I went to protest, (of course I went to protest, you would have too, if you'd been sitting there with him looking all delicious and good-vampire like opposite you) but Emmett placed his finger on my lips. "I'll just be upstairs, silly Kate, you British people should keep your windows closed tighter." We British people had absolutely no problems with windows, it's just that I'd had Becky Clarke, the girl with terminal window trouble, as my best friend since forever, the window thing was bad learnt behaviour. Plus, living in the middle of Yorkshire I'd never really had much need to make sure all the entrances to my house were securely locked at all times, at least, not until a family of vampires had moved in, and they'd be able to work their way through any lock I could find anyway, so why not leave my windows wide open?

"You may remove your finger now" I prompted, my lips numb and in danger of falling off.

"What if I don't want to?" Emmett taunted, his voice low. The numbness I felt wasn't due just to his finger, but then it never had been.

"Are you guys okay in here?" Nick's voice startled only me; Emmett had the unfair 'ability to feel the vibrations through the door handle' or what not, and was therefore able to wrench his finger away from my mouth, and propel himself to a position standing by the window.

"Yeah, of course" I replied, ruffling my hair, since I had nothing better to do, "Why would we not be okay? Everything is absolutely a-okay!" I went through my entire weekly quota of the word 'okay' in a matter of mere seconds, without knowledge of why I was so jumpy.

"I've got chores to do for my mother" Emmett interjected, shaking his head imperceptibly at me, for my motormouth. "You know I'm out of town for a few days, right Kate?" he added, and Nick smiled as though he'd heard that our mortgage had just been paid off by some supernatural force.

"So, you'll be away for how long?" Nick asked, forcing me to narrow my eyes in contempt.

"Four days, maybe five" Emmett replied, his smile portraying his comprehension of Nick's attitude. "I'll call" he promised me, as he left the room, "And I'll see you really soon." He was gone with a fleeting wink at me, leaving a ridiculously satisfied Nick in his wake.

"Maybe you might stop neglecting your other friends now that your boyfriend's not around." Ah, but of course, the old 'step-dad-thinks-the-boyfriend-is-out-of-the-way-and-that-the-stepdaughter's-honour-is-therefore-safe' routine. Nick, as a step-dad, was not all that bad; he made my mom happy, stopped her from being too lonely, but he really didn't really get Emmett and I. But then, if my dad were alive, he might not have understood Emmett and I either. "Becky?" Nick prompted, holding out the landline handset.

I sighed unmistakably, and slapped a hand across my forehead, "Oh dear" I announced unconvincingly, "I think I'm running a temperature. Nap time for Kate."

Nick did the concerned parent routine for a while, running around to find me aspirin to lower my 'fever' and filling me up on fluids, but it took me very little time to convince him that what I really needed was a nice sojourn to my bedroom, and a good long rest. So, off I went, to rejoin the vampire awaiting me in my room.


	17. Seventeenth

**A/N: Hello again. Just to point out that the line about trust, and the devil within is not at all mine, but Donald Sutherland and Charleze Theron's in the 2003 remake of 'The Italian Job' I just thought that it was a nice line. Well, here you go, it's all yours...**

**Disclaimer: Once more, I am forced to concede the creation to Stephanie Meyers.**

"You are such a bad actress."

Not precisely the amorous reception that I'd been looking for from Emmett, when I had finally managed to hobble upstairs, but the fact that he was lying across my bed more than made up for the deficiency of Shakespearean sonnet.

"Perhaps I should try and help you get that temperature down?"

By the time I'd opened my mouth to suggest that this might be a rather good idea, I was enveloped in a cloud of cold, a cloud that was surprisingly solid, since it consisted of Emmett's arms. "Tell me when you get too cold" he demanded in my ear, as my head fell to his shoulder. Emmett couldn't really whisper; anything he said in a quiet voice was low, but only because it was the natural pitch of his voice. It could only really constitute a growl, as a matter of fact. The type of growl that sent a shiver down my spine, and had Emmett pulling away from me, because he was under the delusional impression that it was bad for my core body temperature to be 'subjected' to him for too long.

"Emmett, I'm honestly not cold" I reassured him, in anticipation of his attempted removal of himself from my person.

"Promise me you'll tell me before your teeth start chattering" he ordered, which was an entirely unjust demand for him to make of me; like asking an adrenaline junkie to willingly stop jumping off cliffs, or a pyromaniac to put down their lighter and accelerant.

But the tone of his voice was his serious one, so I was compelled to look into his eyes and reply, "Promise" softly, and mean it. It may have been me that had the supernaturally resonant and therefore persuasive voice, but Emmett wasn't without persuasive technique himself; it mostly consisted of him asking something of me, and me doing it.

"Can you guys fly?"

My question was muffled by the fact that it was spoken into Emmett's shoulder, but he comprehended nonetheless, and answered, "No, we can't. Why do you ask?"

It wasn't something that had been bugging me exactly, more intriguing. "I was just wondering how Demitri is going to be able to see into my second storey bedroom without flying, and how you keep sneaking in up here."

His answer was a grin that I would personally describe as wolfish, and the words, "I jump pretty high" obscured by a chuckle. The thought weirdly exhilarated me, making my heart race, and causing Emmett to laugh some more. "You are so easily entertained."

It was true, I had to admit it, "I am, aren't I?" I questioned. "You know whilst you're gone?" I continued, my heart beat not decreasing, since my mind was focused on Emmett fighting with a pack of wolves, or an equally dangerous beast, which was scary and thrilling combined. "And it's just me and Alice and Esme?"

"And Edward and Nessie" Emmett corrected me, although Edward in his supreme irritatingness, and Ness, being so young and fragile, did not count.

"Yeah, well, will Alice be with me all the time? What if Demitri decides he wants to visit during the day, and then I smell all tasty and he decides it'd be much easier just to finish me off on the spot?" Considering that I was contemplating a feasibly imminent death, my voice was nowhere near as shrill as it might have been.

"He can't just 'finish you off', as you put it" Emmett replied simply, "It's not what the Volturi do. They're all about proper procedure and justice. And anyway, unless Alice says otherwise he'll be here tonight. Alice'll be in here with you with Ness, Edward and Esme will be outside; you'll be protected."

Emmett hadn't mentioned himself whilst detailing my Guard, despite the fact that his trip wasn't scheduled until the next day. "What about you, and Bella, and Jasper, and Carlisle?" I demanded, fear evident in my voice, the type of fear that truly was a result of a human-blood consuming monster prowling around in my little town.

"Of course I'll be here with you. Where else did you think I'd be?" he exclaimed, his black eyes twinkling eerily, disproving the theory that nothing exists inside a black hole. "Carlisle, Bells and Jazz will be waiting to go at home. The sooner we go, the sooner I can get back to you" he explained, stroking my hair gently.

All I wanted was for the nightmarish limbo in which I was currently living to be over. "Can't you do it now?" I pleaded, prompting the curling of Emmett's upper lip.

"Carlisle and Esme would kill me. We have to wait for Demitri, have to see what Alice finds out from his coming here." I hated his calm and logic, I hated that we were playing a waiting game.

"What if I tried to kill myself?" I responded, remembering the many and varied reasons for the Cullen family's transformations, and settling upon Esme in particular.

"God Kate, I love you, but don't push me" Emmett answered, his lip no longer concerned or amused, but angry.

Pushing the famished, physically imposing vampire didn't seem like such a good idea upon reflection, but neither did letting the Volturi catch me as a human. My authority, however, when it came to vampire aristocracy, did not even begin to rate against anybody else's. Apparently, I just had to trust that they knew what they were doing. Trust, in general, came quite naturally to me, and with regards to Emmett it was absolutely complete. But whilst I knew that I could trust the Cullens, I was nowhere near as certain about the Volturi. From what I had heard from Alice and seen from Renesmee, they were genuinely looking for the peaceful co-habitation of vampires and humans, and wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that. But, I'd seen Caius' face in Nessie's memories, I had seen the bloodlust just as clearly as she had all those years ago, and it unsettled me. I trusted everyone. Just not the devil within everyone. And Caius had 'devil' written across his face like Alice had designer labels written in her clothes.

I needed closure, in the form of my transformation, but that wasn't scheduled yet. Right now, all I could hope for was that Demitri would do what had been asked of him, and report back quickly to the Volturi like a dutiful vampire, and then Alice would be able to map my life more clearly for me. But the afternoon just wouldn't merge with the evening. It was like the Earth knew what was going to happen and was slowing down, so as to make each tiny second of my day just that little bit longer. Emmett being there helped, of course, but what I wanted most was for dusk to fall, mom and Nick to go to bed, and Alice and Ness to descend, and fuss over me.

Being summer, the sun still had not set when I was called down by my mom to dinner. "How was your day?" I enquired, as salmon flaked off my fork, and my mom let her hair out of the bun it was constricted into. The tendrils framed her stressed looking face.

"I hate people sometimes Kate, I really do."

As she pushed back the strands of hair that were obscuring her vision, I felt a peculiar pang in my abdomen. My first thought was Emmett, before I realised that anything and everything related to Emmett hit my heart, and in a much sharper, more threatening way. It was as if someone had punched me in the stomach; it was that dull sort of pain. In my blind panic worrying about Emmett (silly, I know, but worrying is a human trait, and after all, I was still human) it took me a few minutes to compose myself, and realise what it was; I'd miss them. Those tendrils of my mother's hair that she was forever pushing away from her eyes, Nick's constant worry that I'd overdose on heroin, or cocaine, or get pregnant, or something equally fantastical. Even their slightly irritatingly habit of often forgetting that I was around, and therefore subjecting me to inappropriate displays of affection, the likes of which a child should never have to see.

"We're thinking of treating you after your A-Levels" Nick informed me, swallowing a mouthful of white wine.

Coupled with the dull pain in my stomach, the pricking, stinging sensation in my eyes almost overwhelmed me. No matter what Demitri said or did, it was pretty certain that I wouldn't be here next summer.

"How do feel about Hawaii?" my mother enthused, as I struggled to keep the smile on my face from fading. Hawaii was somewhere I'd always wanted to visit, but now the sunny islands had a shadow cast over them, and each word and comment of my parents made my throat constrict a little bit more.

"Good salmon" Nick commented, as I swallowed hollandaise sauce covered new potatoes.

"Mmm" my mother replied, which was her way of complementing Nick on his cooking, without admitting that she was a little sour that it was he who cooked most of the time, and he who had spent the whole summer with me, whilst she toiled away at work. It was a different sort of 'Mmm' than usual though, a different pitch maybe, as my mom put her hand over her heart.

Indigestion, I thought, as her cheeks drained a little of colour. "Do you want to get mom some Rennie, Nick?" I asked, since I would have gone myself, but for the screwed up foot thing. My mom shook her head, but the rest of her body shook too.

I didn't understand, neither did Nick, I don't think. "Are you okay, Lou?" my step dad asked, getting up from the dining room table. A violent shaking of my mom's head alerted us to the fact that, no, she was not okay, but it was not until a blur flashed past me, and grabbed my mother around her waist that my brain vaguely began to engage.

"Somebody call an ambulance please." Emmett's voice was extremely controlled, as he tapped my mother's back, in a fashion which I knew to be gentle, at least for him. I could see my mother's body tremble beneath his touch. "I'm sorry about this Mrs. Davis," I heard in his softest voice, before he picked her up, and thrust his fists underneath her diaphragm. A chunk of potato, the size of a rubber bouncy ball flew out of her mouth and halfway across the room. The ambulance that Emmett had requested had never been called for; I was glued to my seat, partially out of fear, and partially because I was still physically incapacitated. Nick was shaking just about as hard as my mom, so Emmett flicked his phone out of his jeans and spoke rationally into it, "Carlisle, I need you, please. Bring Jasper."

I don't know what broke the shocked silence within my family, it could have been my mother's sharp intake of breath, or Nick passing out on his chair, but suddenly words were spewing out of my mouth, and Emmett was having a hard time supporting both my mother and I.

"Kate. Kate, calm down, please. Your mom's fine" he soothed me, tears now rolling down my cheeks, as it finally dawned upon me how close I'd come to losing my other parent. With my mother tucked up on the sofa under a duvet, Emmett focused on Nick, who, like my mother and I, was in a little shock.

It took Carlisle and Jazz hours and hours to get here, hours in which Emmett was the most controlled creature I'd ever witnessed. My mother, being the one who had almost choked to death, had a pallor that rivalled the Cullens', and Nick had stopped breathing in his concern for her, which accounted for his blacking out. In direct comparison, I was the picture of health.

I felt Carlisle and Jasper pull up before I saw, or heard, them. A golden glow spread throughout me, from my heart to my toes, and my mom and Nick's breathing became more regular. Japer was the best medicine ever, and by the time Carlisle had decided to send both my parents to hospital, just to be safe, Nick had regained enough of his personality to be questioning me as to why Emmett was still in our house. It wasn't angry questioning though; it was relieved more than anything. None of us wanted to contemplate what might have happened if he hadn't have been there.


	18. Eighteenth

**A/N: Here it is then, the 18th chapter. I have to run, babysitting now, let me know what you think! **

**Disclaimer: Nuh huh. You know the drill by now. **

"In a slightly traumatising way, this is really all for the best" I noted, as I snuggled next to Emmett on the sofa, "With mom and Nick in hospital I really don't have to worry about Demitri bleeding them dry. And it means Alice and Ness aren't needed here." That, in turn, meant that we did not have to worry about their intrusion, although Edward was nearby (just in case) and I didn't really want him popping into my head as and when he felt like it.

Emmett's teeth glinted in the dark as he smiled; for a vampire he had very normal teeth. Admittedly, they were a little whiter and straighter then mine, but there was an exceptional lack of fangs, which was useful, as I rather liked it when he did that nibbling thing on my neck; fangs probably would have put a stop to that.

"Thank you" I whispered, tears once again threatening to spill onto my cheeks, whilst Emmett hushed me as if I were an infant in his arms, "For saving my mom. I can't lose her." Worn out by the day's events this emotion did not help. With very little warning, no yawning, and no slowing of breathing, I was asleep, dreaming dystopian nightmares of a world with no Emmett, and no parents. A world that was as black as a raven, and as empty as the devil's soul. A dream of torture. It was a relief to be awoken, albeit in the middle of the night. One ice cold hand cupping my cheek was all I needed to drag me from the land of the sleeping, to be confronted by the dark eyes of Emmett.

Edward was stood just inside the room, right next to the window, as though contemplating an escape plan, and Emmett's low voice informed me, "Demitri's just left Esme and Carlisle. He didn't make his investigation too thorough; it's like he knew exactly what he was looking for."

Emmett and his brother answered my unarticulated question simultaneously, "Soon." Edward read the question in my thoughts, but Emmett saw it in my expression, and it was he who held out his hand to me. Edward moved from the window, to a standing position practically on top of me. It had never occurred to me how fast vampires were. I knew that they were speedy, that they could outrun most regular cars, but it had never occurred to me that they could run even faster than a sports car, faster than the Porsche or Aston Martin.

Still, I felt Demitri approach, the blood practically freezing in my veins was a big giveaway. And Emmett gripped me just that bit tighter, whilst Edward hissed fast flowing sentences at a volume and pitch that it was impossible for me to hear. And then Edward put a hand on my shoulder, causing me to jump, and it was like something in the air physically changed, as if it rippled with malice. Edward's speech was measured and low, firm, "_Buon giorno_ Demitri. What can we do for you?"

The black of this vampire's eyes was different to the black of Emmett's or Carlisle's, it was harder, containing less light. They instinctively made me draw myself further towards Emmett, a miniscule movement the new vampire's shrewd eyes documented.

"Edward Cullen, we meet again. How do you do?" A foreign inflection in his voice, that I was sure of, but it didn't sound entirely Italian to me, there were other accents mixed up in there. Some Eastern European, some French. The effect, to me, was harsh, but I gathered that to other human ears the lilting voice would be far too attractive. "Another pet?" Demitri enquired, his demonic eyes raking over me. I let out an involuntary shudder. "She smells so very delicious, I can hardly contain myself. How can you bear to be that close to her, to touch her and not-"

The look of determination in Emmett's eyes was entirely mismatched with his nonchalant tone, "I get by somehow, don't I, bro? These human girls cast one hell of a spell. Maybe you should try it sometime."

Three vampires conversing genially about relationships were not precisely what I'd been anticipating. I was debating whether the polite thing to do would be to invite Demitri in for tea, before I realised that none of them drank it. Still, for what I'd imagined would be the most stressful event of my entire life, I was really rather calm. Demitri only addressed me directly once, saying, "Delighted to make your acquaintance, Katherine." I didn't correct him as to the name, it appeared to me that if anybody could call me whatever they liked, it was members of the Volturi Guard. Other than this, I received no real acknowledgement other than a genteel incline of the head towards me on Demitri's departure; he spent a few minutes conversing with Edward, and then was so completely gone that he might never have been there at all.

"Well, that was anti-climatic" I grumbled, as Edward and Emmett exchanged intense looks. "I was expecting clashing cymbals and lightening, and all I got was a polite European. Not at all satisfactory."

Edward rolled his eyes at me, a worryingly endearing gesture, as though he was on the point of accepting me as a sister, as Emmett chuckled, "That was just the preliminaries. The big guns are up next; Jane, Alec, Felix, and, of course, the main men themselves. I wonder whether Alice'll be able to get a reading off Demitri, or whether she'll have to wait until after he's spoken to Aro."

Poor Alice, I thought, brushing my fringe out of my face, it must be such a burden being the resident clairvoyant.

"Alice revels in it" Edward informed me, his eyes not on me, but on Emmett. "Go" he said firmly, "I'll take care of her. I promise you."

This was Emmett's cue for departure back home, I understood and it unnerved me that he was almost as hysterical as me. "I can leave it for a few more days" he told his brother, to receive in reply an arched eyebrow from Edward, "I can control it, Edward. I can't leave her alone, not with Volturi on our backs."

It was the trains colliding noise that made me realise the extent to which Edward wanted his brother to leave. Two enormous bodies, face to face, snarling at one another. If I'd had brothers I might have realised that this was a common occurrence amongst boys, but as it is, I shrieked, hiding my face in a pillow, and sobbed out, "Please, don't!"

When I peeked out from behind the pillow it was to Emmett brushing my hair from my face, and Edward sat on the sofa opposite me, oozing concern. "Silly Katie" Emmett murmured over and over again.

"I wouldn't have hurt him, Kate" Edward reassured me, "Not unless he'd tried to hurt you."

I couldn't imagine Emmett ever trying to hurt me.

"You can't hear his thoughts." Edward had me there, I had to admit, but I still could never have imagined it.

"He's misinterpreting my thoughts" Emmett insisted, turning his face from me to his brother, "Mistaking one hunger for another."

It appeared, however, that resistance was futile when up against Edward, because he stood up and announced, "Five minutes for goodbyes, Emmett, and then you have to go. Think about the others; you think you can handle it, what if they can't?" An unfair ultimatum, and emotional blackmail at that, not to mention that five minutes was unsuitably short amount of time. But Emmett submitted, mainly because of his caring nature, but partially because Edward promised he'd butt out of our heads for the stipulated five minutes.

"You can go, you know" I conceded to Emmett, as he stroked my cheek with the back of one of his long fingers. "I'll mind, but when you come back you'll be that much less preoccupied with bleeding me dry, it'll be terribly helpful." I was a lot stronger than I thought I would be, my voice didn't even crack once, and once Emmett knew that he had my seal of approval, he relaxed significantly.

Cool lips that tickled my throat, with the equally cool fingers tangling in my hair were the utopia to my dystopian dreams, until my heartbeat raced to dizzying speeds. It's odd how hot I got, when I was pressed against someone so undeniably cold.

Whether Emmett was so caught up in the moment that he didn't notice Edward come into the room, or whether he noticed and simply didn't care enough to remove his body from mine, I don't know, but Edward was certainly not amused. "Kate, I'm not trying to alarm you, but if I don't get Emmett off you in the next thirty seconds, he's going to do something he'll regret for the rest of his existence."

I hadn't realised the precise pressure Emmett's weight had been crushing me into the sofa until Edward had him restrained on the other side of the room. My bones weren't entirely pulverised, thankfully, but they were definitely sufficiently bruised to keep me preoccupied from the dangerous look in Emmett's eyes, which I knew would scare me if I looked at him. It took Edward whole minutes to get Emmett back to his vaguely usual self, and then he whispered, "Goodbye" hoarsely at me, and shot away.

Leaving me with Edward, and feeling shaky.

"I know exactly how hard it is to be separated Kate, but I had to do it, for your sake" Edward soothed. I couldn't cry, my body wouldn't let me, and anyway, I couldn't really see the need for it; yes, so Emmett had left, but he'd done it in order to be able to come back to me. And he had given me a pretty excellent going away present.

"Emmett gives in to temptation very easily" Edward explained in a frank tone to me. "You'd do well to remember that."

I would; Edward represented everything that was right and sensible in the world, but then, I wasn't in love with Edward, was I? "So, you're my baby-sitter for how long?" I questioned, stalking into the kitchen to make myself some tea. "Ouch" I winced, picking up the kettle, even though it had no water in it.

"Here, let me do that" Edward insisted, whipping teabags, sugar and a mug out of various cupboards. I retreated into the living room, not bothering to tell him how I took my tea, knowing that he'd pick it out of my mind.

He called to me whilst the tea brewed, "I'll run you back to our house at dawn. Leave your mother and step-father a note so that they don't panic when they get back from the hospital."

Only three hours in which to be awkward in his presence then.

"I heard that" he informed me, bringing the tea back into the living room for me.

"If you will insist on reading my thoughts" I muttered childishly, glancing out of the living room window. The curtains were still open, despite the time. It was unnatural to me somehow, and in addition to the lack of notable sleep, it was enough to make my head ache.

"I don't rejoice in this gift, Kate. Yes, it is useful on occasion, but for the most part, I find it extremely irritating. We're in exactly the same position; I presume that you don't mean for your voice to take on such a deeply unpleasant tone whenever you give a direct command?"

"Of course not!" I exclaimed, hurt that Edward could even think that I took any pleasure in my so-called gift.

"That's exactly the way I feel" Edward enlightened me, handing my tea over. "There are some people's thoughts that are clearer, and more direct than others. You and Emmett are prime examples of that. I find it very difficult not to hear you, when you both will insist on thinking anything and everything so very clearly for me."

I was by no means a shy person, but at the same time, I didn't perceive myself to be overly open.

"I know that neither of you would ever think anything that you wouldn't tell me anyway; Emmett wanted me to drag him away, despite the resistance he put up."

I suppose what Edward said made sense; my thoughts, private as they had once been, were hardly state secrets.

"It's not like being in Jasper's head" Edward continued, "I hesitate to say that Jasper is a more complex being that either you or Emmett, but his thoughts almost always concern the emotions of others, so I have to contend with several layers."

Whilst some might find Jasper's power intimidating, in that he could twist emotions to his will, I liked Jasper. I'd said very few words to him, but I'd like him, that much I knew.

"You're tired" Edward informed me, as my mind wondered effortlessly from Jasper, to sheep, to French verbs, in a most incoherent fashion. "I know I'll be delivering you into Alice's capable hands in the not too distant future, but it really would benefit you if you slept a while."

"You're not all that bad, are you really Edward?" I expostulated sleepily, stretching out on the sofa. Edward chuckled, and as I fell asleep my lips formed a word that I didn't manage to articulate before falling asleep: Emmett.


	19. Nineteenth

**A/N: Yes, I know. I haven't written anything in the longest of times. Yes, I hate myself too. I never realised a) how difficult it is to force yourself to write when there's just no inspiration and b) how life gets in the way so much. But I bet you'll all be pleased to hear that I passed all of my exams and am currently at University, right? Anyhow, enough of that. Just a little information for you: the piece that you will very shortly read about Renesmee playing actually exists, and you can find it here: .com/watch?v=gsSBwykoF9g. I won't say anything about it, or why I chose it for it's particular purpose, I'd just like you to listen to it and try and understand. (Fanfic doesn't seem to like that web address, so just type youtube into the address bar and then copy and paste the bit that you can see above)**

"Good morning Kate."

My eyes flickered open to see the first rays of sunlight tickling the Yorkshire moors, and Edward Cullen holding a hoodie and sweatpants out to me.

"Morning Edward" I returned groggily, "Do you mind being a little less chirpy please?" Somehow, five thirty in the morning didn't seem to be the appropriate time to be smiling so sincerely.

"Alice is expecting you, so you have to get up" Edward reasoned, as I snuggled further under my duvet cover on the sofa.

"Why did you and Alice arrange such a stupid time anyway?" I grumbled, burying my head in my arms and yawning.

"The timing is all to suit Alice; she's had to suffer hours without Jasper already, and you will provide much distraction for her."

When he put it that way, when I became in some way useful to her, rather than her brother's insanely vulnerable human girlfriend, over whom she had this ridiculous duty of care, I was a little more amenable.

"You are not a burden, Kate" Edward assured me, "We all very much like spending time in your company." His saying that did not mean that I grumbled any less about being babysat, or about the fact that he hadn't brought his Vanquish with him (It was Emmett's for the month anyhow) and therefore actually had to literally _run _with me back to his house, and it did not make the frown on Alice's face any less deep when she saw 'the state I was in.'

"She's comfortable" Edward retaliated on my behalf, "Can we please remember the paring knife that has recently been in her foot, and the resulting wound, Alice?"

Alice huffed a little, and ushered us in. I was far too preoccupied to take offence at her accusations.

"Edward" I breathed, "You, you, sparkle?"

Sparkle seemed the most appropriate word; the image I truly wanted to convey was that of rain glinting off a paving stone at a particular angle, but there was no word to describe it.

"Hmm, yes, we all sparkle, as you put it" Edward explained absent mindedly, as Renesmee ran into his arms.

"Dad!" she exclaimed, "You're back! Everything is so boring around here when everyone is away."

They sparkled. Like melting ice sculptures.

"Why do you…you know…look like that?" I questioned, following them all through to the living room, at my sedate speed. No-one answered me, whether through ignorance, or just plain not wanting to tell me, I'm not sure.

Instead, Edward asked me, "Would you like some breakfast?"

I never ate breakfast, at least, never ate breakfast of my own free will, only when mom or Nick forced me.

"They're right" Edward confirmed, "It is the most important meal of the day."

I knew that it'd be like this, that as soon as I was trapped in the Cullen's house with no Emmett, and relying on them to protect me from the Volturi, they'd all become control freak parent-a-likes.

"Dad makes great French Toast" Nessie guaranteed me, her sweet, high voice acting as a calming agent for me.

"If you like that sort of thing" Alice muttered, lolling gracefully on a sofa. "Now, when can I get her out of those horrific clothes? If she's going to do 'comfortable', she could at least do it in Abercrombie."

Esme floating down the stairs saved me from the clutches of the younger Cullens.

"Kate, hello!" she chimed, pressing her cold cheek against my relatively warm one, "I'm so glad that you're okay."

I didn't realise why I shouldn't be okay until Edward reminded me of Demitri. "Oh, of course I'm okay. Demitri was perfectly amicable" I reassured her. I'd all but forgotten about Demitri's little visit, I only really remembered Emmett's painful departure, and falling asleep before finishing my tea.

"So, do you have any plans for Kate today?" Esme asked of her adopted children, who had dispersed themselves in the short time I'd been there; Edward to the kitchen to make the promised French Toast, Alice to the bookshelf, where she had at least three hundred back copies of Vanity Fair, and Nessie to the piano, where she was tinkering a soft melody.

"Play Kate that piece I taught you last night" Edward called to his daughter from the kitchen, "She'll like it."

Nessie flexed her long, pale fingers, and smiled slightly before touching the keys.

On hearing the first note, I gasped. That tune, it was familiar, it was like it touched a part of my soul.

"What is that?" I breathed, utterly spell-bound.

"Your lullaby" Edward replied pleasantly, the smell of frying egg permeating the airy space.

"My lullaby?" I stuttered, recognising the piece as the music that I'd formed in my head, whenever I thought about Emmett and I.

"Yes," Edward confirmed, "Your lullaby. Emmett and yourself are extremely musically compatible, if nothing else" as I heard sounds that hadn't come from my head, at least, not in my memory. "Do you know Romeo and Juliet?" he asked, unexpectedly. I nodded, still speechless. "The sonnet they compose together? The one in which they answer one another? This is a musical interpretation of that sonnet."

"Like holy palmers' kiss" I murmured to myself, "But how?" I asked, my voice returning, but my head no less lost in the music.

"It's just your thoughts" Edward answered simply, "Set to a musical backdrop. Nessie plays it better than I do."

Edward had looked inside my head and heard this? But how? I couldn't create anything this, this perfect.

"There's a musician inside each of us, Kate" Edward informed me, "The music is relatively simple, it affects you so because it is a part of you and Emmett, combined."

I just couldn't get over such beauty being inside my head, inside anybody's head.

"How come Jasper and I haven't got a lullaby?" Alice griped, floating along into the kitchen, almost as intangible as the motes of dust dancing in the stream of sunlight that was entering the room through the glass windows.

"You and Jasper are perfectly capable of making up your own lullaby, if you so wish" Edward rebuked her, as she wrinkled her nose at the sight and smell of my breakfast.

"Et voila, madamemoiselle" Edward announced, proffering the plate of French toast, dusted with a combination of cinnamon and icing sugar.

"I take it back. I take it all back" I raved, within seconds of having swallowed my first mouthful, ridiculously hot though it was. I probably should have realised that Edward would be a master chef on top of everything else, but I figured that as long as he was feeding me, I wouldn't complain too much about it. In fact, I wouldn't complain about it at all.

"I'm glad that you like it, Kate. I aim to please" Edward returned pleasantly, filling the sink with hot water.

"And you wash up too?" I asked, incredulous. Nessie sidled into the kitchen, snaffling a piece of toast off my plate. The lack of music in the air made my heart ache a little, but it was trapped in my head, a million times more potent now that I'd heard it for real.

"Did you want some too Renesmee?" Edward enquired, as he squirted washing up liquid into the sink. "Because I would have made you some. That did belong to Kate, you know."

Nessie's angelic face curled into a beautiful smile. "No, daddy. This is fine, thank you. And you, Kate, thanks for sharing."

There was something so entirely candid and sincere about the way which she had essentially just stolen half of my breakfast that I just fawned at her. "Oh, it's not a problem Nessie!"

"You'll get over that soon too" Alice told me, holding up a length of material next to my face. I had no idea where she, or the material, had come from. "Yes, my niece is cute beyond belief, but she is also a complete con merchant."

"Aaaw, Aunty Alice" Nessie trilled, "You don't mean that at all!"

Alice's black look was directed more at the material than Nessie, I think, because it was the material that she shredded ferociously. "Kate, I mean this is no way offensively, but your colour palette is all over the place."

I nibbled more slowly on my remaining piece of French Toast, blowing my fingers every so often. "I'd apologise Alice, but I quite honestly haven't a clue what you're talking about."

"And there we have a common interest, Kate" Edward shared with me, his eyes dancing in a way that was mutual with his brother, "Alice, would you care to expand for those of us who wouldn't be able to intern at Marie Claire?"

Alice sighed sadly, and looked us both over with a sympathetic eye "Really, Kate, I sort of would have expected it from Edward, he is a guy after all, but I thought I had a kindred spirit in you! You really should be an autumn, you have the dark hair and the hazel-y eyes, but then you're so pale that the blues work better with your skin tone, whilst the rest of the winter colours sort of wash you out. It's a real dilemma, you know. I've been trying to order some things online for you. Not because I don't like your clothes or anything" she added hastily, "But because, well, Jasper's not here, so I have little else to do but shop, and I wanted to do some shopping for myself anyway, and well, I'm going off on a tangent, but, the point I was trying to make is, your colour palette, it's the set of tones that best suit your features and work best on you, and I hope, hope, hope I've got it right."

Each word that Alice spoke made my heart sink a little more, as what I thought was realisation began to dawn on me (very slowly, even I will admit.)

"Oh, Alice!" Edward, able to read her mind, got there much faster than me, "Please, do not tell me you actually spent _that _much?"

For the first time since I'd met her, Alice Cullen looked a little uncomfortable, "Can I just point out how it was me who told Carlisle to get rid of that stock before Wall Street crashed? And how I've single handedly kept this family's financial portfolio sky high since forever? I don't think it's too much to ask to indulge every once in a while!"

"Alice?" I asked meekly, "You haven't bought me anything, have you?" I put my fingers in my ears so that I couldn't hear her answer, but I still read the lips that replied, "Yes" somewhat miserably.

"Oh, so that's what those vans were this morning!" Nessie chimed, brushing her hair out of her face, in a gesture that reminded me of my mother.

Vans. Plural. As in, lots and lots and LOTS of clothes.

"I guess I'd best go and see the damage, hadn't I?" I enquired, getting up with the greatest trepidation. "Your room?"

"Spare room" Alice directed, guiltily. "Well, yes, my room, and the spare room. Whichever you'd prefer to start with."

Oh god. Alice Cullen had bought me two rooms worth of clothes, undoubtedly all designer, and she had not consulted anybody about it, least of all me.

"You don't mind really, do you?" Alice demanded, dancing her way up the staircase towards her room.

"Well, I really didn't want anybody to fuss over me. And, I don't deserve to be spoilt in the least little bit. And, of course, I have the utmost faith in your innate sense of beauty, Alice. Just so long as you haven't bought any ball gowns?"

There was a very slight look of dread that flitted across Alice's face, before she insisted calmly, "Let's start in my room, shall we?"

I steeled myself to be majorly taken aback.


	20. Twentieth

**N/A: I genuinely don't know why I do it. I'll go months and months without writing a word, and then all of a sudden I'll put up 2 chapters within the space of hours. Why? And why at 1.45 in the morning? I make so little sense it's quite unreal. Disregarding this, I hope you enjoy this next chapter, the same way I hope you enjoyed the preceeding nineteen. **

A&F. D&G. YSL. DKNY. FCUK. McQ.

And that's just the labels that consist of a bunch of letters. It got much, much worse than that: Armani. Chloé. Dior. Gucci. Fendi. Jean Paul Gaultier. Prada. Ralph Lauren. Valentino. Versace. Diane Von Furstenberg. Juicy Couture. Pucci.

And then, there were the people that I'd never even heard of, in obscure looking bags with patterns ranging from psychedelic to classically understated.

"Alice?" Forming her name was hard enough, what with me hyperventilating about the gazillion pounds (British Sterling) of clothes that were strewn all over the place, as if they were of no particular importance. "Alice, my dear, dear almost sister-in-law, and she who is going to share in my fairly immortal existence once someone around here gets their act together and turns me into a vampire, I love you. God knows I love you. But, this is too much. Far, far too much. Such beautiful clothes. Such beautiful expensive clothes. But, I can't keep them. Because, they're too, far too beautiful. No, I mean, far too expensive. Too expensive. Take them away from me please."

The aforementioned sister-in-law advanced on me, bearing a little black Valentino number, which was absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious.

"This" she told me, "Is the first thing I'm going to dress you in, once that stupid foot of yours heals, and I can put you in a pair of Louboutins to match. With legs like yours, it's practically a felony that you don't have more dresses like these in that wardrobe of yours."

I whimpered like a little puppy that had just been kicked; the reason that I didn't have more dresses like this in my wardrobe was basically because my bank balance wouldn't stretch to a dress worth £2499.99.

"No, Alice, no. I can't. I won't. Emmett wouldn't like it." I was scraping the bottom of the barrel, concerning potential reasons why all these designer labels had to go straight back to whichever fabulous city they had come from.

And didn't Alice know it?

"You lie so terribly, Katie" she replied gleefully, "It was practically Em's idea. Well, his was more of a 'she'd look fantastic in a black bin bag, but I know how much she'd love a shopping trip, and hey, we've got the money, and you've got the fashion, so go for it Alice' sort of tirade. I pretty much just streamlined that down to 'shopping trip.' And I know you'll love them all. Even the ball gown."

I had only been joking about the ball gown. It seems Alice hadn't.

"Vera Wang?" I choked out, as I touched the silky material. "The wedding dress designer, Vera Wang? Oh Alice, this is torture, I hate you!" The dress was emerald green, my favourite colour, and more beautiful than anything I'd ever set eyes on. Strapless and floor length, with an embroidered pattern along the chest. Simple, yet sophisticated. The sort of dress I'd wished that I could have bought for my Leavers' Ball, much as I liked my purple dress. The sort of dress that girls from little towns like Whitby never own.

"Okay, step away from the dress please, Kate" Alice ordered, releasing me from the evil, dark spell that the Vera Wang dress was casting on me. I hadn't realised that my mouth was gaping open, my eyes glazed over, in awe of its absolute splendour.

"You, missy, need to make the relatively simple decision between Abercrombie and Fitch and Juicy Couture right now, and that decision alone. Once we have more time to deliberate about the relative advantages of Alexander McQueen and Versace, we will do. But right now, sweats please!" she chivvied me, dragging me out of the spare room, and back into hers.

I had never considered how difficult it would be to make a choice like that when there was a fashionista like Alice Cullen in the room; not only did I have to choose between the two different labels (I settled for Juicy in the end) but I then had to make a decision between the three million different tracksuits that Alice had bought. The differences in the ratios of polyester to cotton had to be discussed in depth, and naturally the style of sweatshirt (pullover, zip up, half sleeve, the possibilities were quite literally endless) before the inevitable question of colour came up. It was almost an hour later that I was finally costumed in a grey velour Juicy Couture tracksuit, my hair tied back with a matching grey silk ribbon.

Across the perfect caramel latte that Alice made me, in the brand new coffee machine that she'd ordered with the £55,967.89 worth of clothes, shoes and bags from London, we chatted about everything and anything.

"That stuff doesn't actually smell all that horrendous" Alice remarked of my latte, which, from her, was high praise indeed. "Not saying that I'd swap it willingly for blood, but it's got to be better than that French Toast stuff that Edward was forcing on you earlier."

"Excuse me" Edward called from the piano, where he was helping Nessie with the finishing touches of some composition of hers, "But, I am fairly sure that Kate enjoyed her breakfast, regardless of what you think."

The house, without Emmett, was not uncomfortable. Esme was as attentive, if not more so, than my own mother. Edward was the picture of hospitality, and Alice as good company as Becky. But, no matter how kind and caring my hosts were, they just weren't Emmett. None of them had his voice, or his touch, or his laugh. He'd not even been gone a full twenty-four hours and I felt like the loneliest person in the world.

Of course, Esme noticed. Maybe it was that I left the living room claiming I needed to go to the bathroom, and she found me twenty minutes later curled up in a ball on Emmett's windowsill.

"Kate?" she queried, and the concern in her beautiful voice almost made my heart break, "Are you alright?"

I wanted to sob, to show some, _any _form of emotion so that she might have a chance of comprehending what I was feeling, but I was hollow. It was like Emmett had taken half of my vital organs away when he'd left (my heart, my brain, my lungs) and left me with the ones that weren't much fun (my kidneys, my liver.)

Esme stroked my hair, her touch whisper-light, and her voice was almost a hum as she explained "It gets easier. I can cope now that Carlisle is not here, but there was a time when I would not be separated from him, ever. It is hard for us all. But your love will be just as strong when he returns, remember that."

I sighed, my shoulders tired. "I know" I whispered back at her "But it hurts. It physically hurts."

This time, it was Esme who sighed. "You poor thing" she acknowledged, smiling gently, "To fall in love with one of us, to have to leave your life behind-"

"I don't care about that" I cut in, disbelieving that she thought I'd be worried, or upset about that, "I've barely even thought about it. It's just, I can't see him, and I can't feel him, and that makes me feel unsafe."

"But we're here!" she chimed, "Edward and Alice and Nessie and I, we can protect you."

Again, she didn't understand me. Yes, they could protect me. Alice could see trouble coming, and Edward could anticipate an attack, and Esme could fight for me, and Nessie, well, she could probably 'cute' the opposition into surrender, but that wasn't why I felt unsafe. It was nothing to do with the Volturi, or anything like that. It was, quite simply, inexplicable, illogical, irrational. All those words which describe love.

"Come back downstairs" Esme coaxed, tearing me away from my reverie. "Alice thinks that you are upset with her because of her purchases. Edward has tried to convince her that it's not that, but she won't believe him, you'll have to tell her yourself."

I felt myself wanting to snap at Alice, even though she had showered me with enough presents to last a mortal lifetime. Maybe even an immortal lifetime. I held back the emotion though. It was unfair to her; she was missing Jasper too, that much I could comprehend.

"There you are Kate!" Nessie's enthusiastic voice greeted me. A little crease appeared between her eyes when she saw the look on my face, and I was immediately struck down by guilt. It was so unfair that I'd made her upset, the little ballerina angel that I loved like a little sister. I forced a smile to my face, attempting to rid my voice of any melancholy. "Don't mind me Ness, just being a silly human."

"I wish Uncle Jasper was here to make it better for you" she admitted, her ringlets swaying slightly as she tilted her face up at me.

"There's nothing to make better, Nessie. Honestly, I'm fine" I reiterated, fiddling with the zipper on my sweatshirt.

She smiled a sad smile, one that was full of disbelief, and held out her hand to me. I looked down at it, before placing mine gently on top. She didn't squeeze it, as I'd expected her to, but a memory of hers appeared in my mind.

"_Carlisle, I won't leave her. Not now, not ever." This is Emmett. He stands opposite his father, the black of his eyes menacing, his whole stature intimidating beyond belief. He suddenly turns and snarls behind his shoulder, "And you can stop that, Jasper. I don't want any of your bloody anaesthetic."_

_Carlisle raises a hand, and Jasper disappears like a ghost, Alice flitting after him, leaving the rest of the anxious looking Cullen clan surrounding Emmett._

"_None of you are leaving behind the most precious thing in the world, just to go hunting" he continues, pleading in his voice._

"_Excuse me" Bella, her arms crossed angrily across her chest, interrupts, "I believe you'll find I'm leaving my most precious things, plural, Emmett. My daughter and my husband. All to look after your girlfriend."_

_Carlisle flying between Emmett and Bella is the only thing that stops Emmett crushing her against a wall. "She didn't mean that callously, son" Carlisle explains, his voice soft. It's his doctor voice, the one he uses to reassure nervous patients. It doesn't seem to be working well on a livid Emmett. _

_Esme and Nessie's faces are not frightened precisely, more anxious._

"_She can't remember what it was like for her and Edward in the beginning. It's stronger than that."_

_Bella snorts, her disbelief evident. "It's love Emmett. You'll always think that you're in love more than everybody else. But we're all in love, and we're all making sacrifices for Kate. You have to make a few too."_

"_She has a point Emmett" Esme adds, "It's safer for Kate that you leave now and return when you're less thirsty."_

_Emmett snarls again, clearly not in agreement with either of them. "I know that I've made a few mistakes in the past, let my defences down and done some rash things, but you think that I could ever, that I'd ever-" His sentence is cut off by a strangled cry of frustration, as he imagines me being hurt. "I love her more than anything in the world."_

"_Then do this for her" Carlisle says softly._

I felt a little disorientated when Nessie removed her hand from mine; that was the longest memory of hers that I'd ever seen.

"Why did you show me that?" I asked shakily, my head still spinning.

"I thought it might help" she explained, searching in my face for a sign that I felt any better.

I did not.

I felt no worse for the experience, in knowing that Emmett had been coerced into leaving me, but seeing his face only made me want him back more.

"You're strong Kate" she informed me, "You're going to have to be, if you want to be one of us. You love each other so much, and it's only a few days. You can survive them."

Then why didn't it feel like I could?


	21. TwentyFirst

**A/N: Oh my goodness, the fatigue. Just finished an hour and a half of scuba diving, followed by a hasty typing session for this chapter, and now it's half one in the morning. Good job I don't have to get up til 9 this morning. Well, once again, it's pretty much an Emmett-less Chapter, which makes me sad. But the good news is that he's home now and back in the story for the long-haul (no more hunting trips between now and the end, it's just too painful to imagine him not being in my story.) It's time for me to stop rambling and go to bed and it's time for you to REVIEW.**

**Disclaimer: Oh please. The woman is like a muli-catrillionaire. I, in comparison, am an impoverished student. **

The day finished eventually.

It was followed by one that was just as long.

And another.

And then it was the fourth day, and I hoped, wished and prayed that at any minute Emmett would come knocking on my door, and my step-dad would be disgruntled by his re-appearance, and the world would settle back on its axis, and I would be able to bask in his beauty once more.

I stayed in bed as long as I thought was acceptable, anything to make the time to go a little faster. But when it was impossible to avoid consciousness any longer, I skulked downstairs and fixed myself coffee. Nick had gone out, judging by the note on the kitchen table, to Sainsbury's, for groceries, so I let Edward, who had been standing guard the previous night, into the house.

"Thank you very much Kate" he said, smiling down at me. He was much more bearable now, and with each new piece of culinary mastery that he revealed to me, I inched closer and closer to actually liking him a little bit.

He strode through into the kitchen, and announced, "Pancakes. I'll make pancakes for you."

Lazy girl that I was, I had fallen into the bad habit of not answering him anymore; he could hear my response, so it seemed like a waste of energy to open my mouth.

So Edward set about making blueberry pancakes, whilst I sat at the table and hummed fragments of the lullaby that he had composed for Emmett and I to myself.

"You composed it yourself Kate" he corrected me, as he beat flour and eggs together briskly, "I merely played it on the piano; no great skill on my part."

"If you say so Edward" I responded listlessly. I still believed that there was no way on Earth that anything that was so beautiful had been created in my head.

"When's Emmett coming home?"

The question had been in my mind all night long, I knew Edward must have heard me from where he was watching over me, and he'd have heard me formulate it in my head before it passed across my lips, yet he still looked a little startled by the words.

"I'm not sure, Kate. Soon" he reassured me, looking me over worriedly as he poured the batter into a frying pan. I didn't know whether it was concern at the expression on my face (one of abject misery) or worry at the fact that he didn't know when half of his family would be back home.

"Where did they go?" I enquired quietly, fixing my gaze on him.

"The Carpathian Mountains" he replied, equally as quietly, turning his back on me, in the pretence of getting a plate of the cupboard.

I scared myself with the complete composure with which I replied, "Oh. The Carpathian Mountains? You mean, the ones in Romania?"

"Yes, those Carpathian mountains."

It was shock, I think. I'd assumed that they'd go maybe to Scotland. Yorkshire wasn't exactly abundant in vampire prey, but they'd be fine in Scotland, I thought. And, if not Scotland, France at a push, they had mountains where there'd be deer and stuff, right?

"They've gone for bears. A treat for Emmett" Edward informed me, careful not to catch my eye.

If possible, my voice was even quieter when I commented, "Emmett has left me alone for near enough five days to go and fight with grizzly bears in Romania?"

"Brown bears. Not grizzlies."

I slammed down my fork on the wooden top of the kitchen table. "I'm going to kill him."

"Don't be angry Kate. Romania isn't that far. When the others return, we're going to Siberia."

I almost choked on the air I was breathing. "Siberia? Are you joking? Please, tell me you're joking Edward."

The look on his face said that he was not joking, not in the slightest.

I didn't just need Emmett. Emmett was the focus of my existence, yes. But, I needed his family too. I needed Nessie's hugs, and Alice's bright, open, honest opinion, and Esme's smile and Edward's food. They just couldn't swan off to Siberia, as and when they felt like. It was not on.

"Now, now Kate" Edward's tone was that of a parent trying to placate a stroppy toddler. "I'm sure they'll be home soon, and we'll be as quick as possible and then when we're back we'll be able to sort out the situation with the Volturi."

Stabbing my pancakes venomously was the only outlet I had for my red-hot anger. "I don't see why you can't eat just eat steak from Sainsbury's like the rest of us" I grumbled petulantly.

Edward laughed, shaking his head, "We drink the blood, we don't eat the flesh, Kate."

It was all the same thing, wasn't it?

"Come on" Edward chivvied, as soon as I had swallowed my last mouthful of pancakes. He'd already removed the plate from underneath my face with such speed that I hadn't seen it happen, and was helping me to my feet before I knew what was happening. "Watch a movie. It'll take your mind off things."

I didn't particularly want my mind 'taking off things.' I wanted to remember precisely how agitated I was that Emmett had neglected to mention a little fact like he was jetting off to the other side of Europe, because I knew that as soon as he returned I'd be utterly overwhelmed by his presence and wholly incapable of harbouring any ill feeling towards him.

But I let Edward put Miss Congeniality on anyway, and I laughed at Sandra Bullock and Michael Caine, and I cried at 'One in a Million' as I always do. Eric Matthews had somehow become ten times less attractive than when I'd last watched the DVD. It was weird to think that I'd never find another male form attractive again; even when I objectively knew that Edward and Carlisle and Jasper were beautiful, I just couldn't see it properly.

"You're trying to make me fat" I complained at Edward when he came back at the end of the movie with a bowl of popcorn and my Dirty Dancing DVD. "And thanks for asking my permission to go in my room."

He sat next to me on the sofa and sighed as the opening scene unfolded. "I'm not sure how many times Alice has forced me to watch this movie. I learnt everything I know about dancing from Patrick Swayze."

I glanced across my shoulder at him, to see if he was telling the truth. His face was completely straight. It was a strange thought, Edward watching Dirty Dancing. I wondered if he was a fan of Pretty Woman too.

"Impertinent" he reprimanded me, as Nick's car pulled up on the drive.

Edward's presence was so natural to me now, as was that of all the Cullen's, that I was confused by the startled look on Nick's face when he entered the living room.

"Erm, Kate?" he questioned, gesturing to Edward's smiling face. "Gone off Emmett already?"

"I was just keeping Kate company whilst my brother isn't here, sir" Edward replied, getting up to shake Nick's hand. "Edward Cullen, Esme and Carlisle's second boy."

Nick took his hand with a look of absolute suspicion on his face, which turned to shock at the temperature. "It's cold in here, isn't it? Do I need to turn the heating up?"

"The heating's just fine Nick. Edward's just come in out of the cold" I lied proficiently, causing Edward to smile slightly.

"Can I have a quick word please, Kate?" my step-dad asked, taking me by the arm and leading me out into the hall. Once he'd closed the door, and assumed that Edward was out of earshot, he asked very quietly, "What on Earth do you think you're doing? You know you're not supposed to have guests alone in the house!"

"Becky used to come over all the time when you and mom weren't here" I retaliated swiftly, self-conscious of the fact that I knew precisely where this little chat was going, and perfectly aware that Edward could hear Nick just as well as I could.

"Becky Clarke is an entirely different matter. She's a girl. Not a hormonal teenage boy. And anyway, I thought you liked his brother?"

"I love his brother" I returned, through gritted teeth, and scowled at the condescending look on Nick's face.

"Oh, really. Kate, I thought you were a sensible girl. You're seventeen years old, you have no idea what love is."

I wanted to laugh in his face. I wanted to tell him that Emmett Cullen's vampiric gift was his capacity to love me. But I didn't. The Volturi were apparently not exactly my greatest fans, provoking them further didn't seem like a particularly great plan. Not that Nick ever would have believed me. He would have had me straight in the car and on the way to the nearest psychiatric hospital if I'd started burbling about vampires.

Instead, I threw my nose in the air, and huffed, "I am not a child. I know my own mind as well as Emmett knows his. I'd like to think that you wouldn't have a problem with that. If you do, well, I don't really care."

"That still does not explain what his brother is doing sitting in our living room" Nick pointed out, having entirely ignored my comments regarding Emmett.

"Like he said, we were watching Dirty Dancing perfectly happily before you came and interrupted us" I replied acidly, putting the palm of my hand on the living room door.

"Now, you wait just a second young lady-"

"You are not my father. You have no right to tell me what to do."

The words slipped out before I could put my brain into gear. A look of utter pain crossed Nick's face, before he said "I've never tried to replace your dad, Kate. I'm only trying to look out for you."

"Oh, Nick, I'm so sorry. I know that. Honestly I do" I insisted, flinging my arms around his neck, pulling him into a fierce hug. "And I promise you that I do know what I'm doing. I'm not that seven year old girl you first knew. I'm an adult. And I'm rational. And I really and truly do love Emmett. Edward is only here to keep me company, Esme thought I was miserable."

I couldn't retract that statement though. Nick and I had always had always had an easy relationship; I'd never really resented him 'taking my dad's place.' Because truly, it didn't really feel like he had. I was seven years old when my dad died; I had so many more memories of Nick in my life than I did of Michael Taylor. Nick, who had been the man standing outside the gate with my mom on my first day of 'big school'. Nick, who had skated nervously around the issue of boys and sex on the sofa, sat next to my mom. Nick who had driven me home from the hospital on the day that I'd met Emmett, worried sick about the paring knife I'd put through my foot. And Nick, the person other than my mother that I'd miss the most when I was a true part of the Cullen family and no longer mortal.

"Bet you'll be glad when Emmett's home?" I joked weakly, letting go of him.

"I won't be happy until I've got you settled down with a mortgage and a husband in a nice house" he assured me, touching my cheek. "I didn't mean to imply anything was going on between you and Emmett's brother. I can see that you think that you're in love with this boy, and I can accept that."

I didn't bother to argue with him about the phrasing of the preceding statement, not least because it would prevent me from going back into the living room and apologising to Edward for his having been privy to that scene of domestic dispute.

There was already an apologetic smile on my face when I entered. But it changed when I saw who was in the room.

Emmett had finally come home.


	22. TwentySecond

**A/N: Yes, so this is considerably shorter than the last couple of chapters. And yes, this is quite late. But when I'm about a hundred miles away from my little sister, and she's having an upsetting day, and I'm not there to give her hug, there's only one thing that I can really do to try to make her feel better: write. So, enjoy. **

He flew at me with such speech that there was a genuine disturbance in the air.

"I'm never leaving you, ever, ever again" he promised me, picking me up in arms, and leaning his forehead against mine. "I mean it. It almost killed me. Well, not killed, dying isn't exactly easy, but as close to dying as I can-"

"Oh, will you shut up please?" I demanded, pressing my lips into his, and letting go of every bad emotion I'd ever felt in my life. It was almost painful, the absolute content that surged through me, just to be back in his arms, to have him as the same room as me.

I had to let him go, of course. It was only for a few seconds, so that he and Edward could have a hurried discussion about the days Emmett had missed, and the plan for the next week or so. But they were vampires, so these logistics lasted mere seconds, their speech unintelligible to me.

And then he was back. And Edward was gone. It felt like my life was finally complete.

"Your bedroom?" Emmett queried, evidently anticipating Nick's untimely intervention, because he was already out the window as the living room door opened.

"I didn't mean that Edward couldn't stay" he informed me, having watched Edward walk off down the front path, "His mother's not here yet, he can't possibly walk home, can he?"

It reminded me that Nick had no idea where the Cullens lived. I rather liked it that way, and yet how to explain the fact that as soon as he was out of sight, Edward would be able to travel at astronomical speeds?

"I think he said something about meeting Esme in the village" I replied slowly, calculating how many different inquisitive responses Nick could formulate.

Thankfully, he seemed pacified. "Oh. Well, I could have given him a lift in, it's freezing out there."

But he shrugged, and seemed to admire Edward's hardiness, then dropped it. I got the feeling that my earlier comment about him not being my father had not entirely been forgiven, but there was no time to think about it, not right then.

It was all I could do to stop myself jumping on Emmett, as he lay casually on my bed. I settled for molding my body inside his, and he wrapped his arms around my waist, breathing down my neck softly.

"That was horrible, wasn't it?" I asked quietly, relishing the contact, his presence warming me, in spite of the fact that he was physically so cold.

"I'd rather not talk about it. Sort of destroys that whole 'hard man' thing I've got going on" Emmett replied, and even in his perfection, I saw the typical male 'retreat from any conversation where I might have to discuss my emotions' reaction.

"You should have told me you were going to Romania" I told him, trying my hardest to keep my tone from sounding accusatory. I think I failed.

"I didn't want to worry you" Emmett explained, hugging me tighter, "I knew exactly what you'd be like, and it'd have been even harder for me to leave you."

For all his 'not wanting to worry me' I was still upset.

I turned over in his arms, to face him. "You don't think I got worried when Edward couldn't tell me when you were coming home? You don't think I worried that it seemed absolutely impossible for you to pick up a phone and speak to me, after four whole days?" I'd lost all sense of restraint by this point; one thing I was _not _worried about was sounding accusing.

"Katie, please, I couldn't. I would have just turned round and come right back here."

I upset myself more by making Emmett upset, I realized.

I sighed heavily, and looked into his eyes. There was something different about him, something which I couldn't quite grasp. He didn't look the same as before he'd left, but what was it?

"Next time, we hunt together. When you're a vampire" he swore, startling me a little bit. Ridiculous as it sounded, I'd sort of forgotten about that whole aspect of the Cullens. I'm not entirely sure how; the love of your life and his family being supernatural creatures was probably not something most people would let slip from their mind, but I saw them all for themselves, for their human traits more than anything; Nessie's excitability, Alice's tenacity, Esme's compassion.

"What is going on with the Volturi?" I demanded, "Is Alice any more certain yet?"

"I haven't spoken to her yet, I came straight here" Emmett replied, "But Edward told me that she's been getting clearer and clearer in his thoughts. They're going to meet you human, that's what she thinks."

Meet the Volturi as a human? Not even as an equal species? The thought turned my stomach a little. In my head, when I'd met this vampire royalty, I'd always been as beautiful as Bella, as resilient as Jasper. And now it seemed like this wasn't going to happen. The Volturi would probably just laugh in my face, and then snap my neck, less chance of me divulging their secret that way.

"Bella met them in Italy as a mortal" Emmett attempted to assuage my concern, "And they were just intrigued by her, they'll be even more so by you, your power is so tangible, so, well, awesome."

He sounded like your archetypal American high-schooler when he said that, his eyes bright with enthusiasm. His eyes seemed brighter in so many respects.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, taking his face in my hands, and gazing deep into it. "Your eyes" I continued, at a murmur, "They were black before, such a beautiful black. And now, they're not?" It was more of a question than anything, how did someone's eyes change colour like that?

"I'm just less inclined to take a bite out of you at the moment, I'm not so hungry" Emmett explained, "It's like a safety mechanism for our prey; when our eyes are black, we're at our most dangerous, more likely to devour you, and consequence be damned. They're a warning signal, most sane people stay away because our eye colour is so threatening. When they're this gold-y sort of colour, you tend to find that people are slightly less fearful."

"I don't like it" I complained, grumpily, "I preferred them when they were black."

"Yet more proof, that you Miss Taylor, are an evolutionary wonder, you absolute weirdo."

It was like, with having hunted, Emmett's entire personality had practically changed; he was so much freer now, like he'd removed some sort of guard.

"Everyone was great while you were gone" I confided in him. "Edward isn't that bad, is he really?"

"Talk about role-reversal" Emmett quipped, laughing slightly, "Usually, I like to refer to him as St. Edward, saint of the supposed moral upper hand. I was only so polite about him because I didn't want you to hate him. His ways take a lot of getting used to."

"He usually does have the moral upper hand, to be fair" I conceded, "Sadly."

"And it makes him ridiculously boring!" Emmett retaliated. "Don't get me wrong, he's my brother, I love him, but, you know when Alice goes off on one of her fashion tirades, and it is literally impossible to shut her up? It's like that with Edward, when he's convinced that you're wrong and he's right, there's no shutting him up."

"You mean like he was right about Bella?" I asked shrewdly. That shut Emmett up very quickly.

"If I can't win an argument with you now, how am I supposed to do it when you're a vampire?" Emmett sulked, his lower lip pouting adorably.

"Quite simply, you just bow to my absolute superiority" I teased, holding his hand in mine, and snuggling my head into his chest. "I'd almost forgotten how comfortable you are."

"I'll never let you forget again" Emmett replied, leaning in to kiss me.

I hoped that he was telling the truth. Because, no matter how much we wanted to stay together forever, and no matter how much the rest of the Cullens supported us, there was always the looming threat of the Volturi, and their wishes, that at some point we would be forced to meet head on.

"Don't worry about it now" Emmett ordered, using his lightest tone of voice, "Live for the moment. Live for this." And he kissed the corner of my mouth exquisitely softly, at which my stomach swooped as though I were on a roller coaster, and I succumbed entirely to his presence.


	23. TwentyThird

**A/N: Unbelievably, I can feel the end of this story. I know exactly what I'm doing with it now, whereas, usually, I have no idea what I'm rambling on about. Really, I just like the sound of my own voice far too much. But no, maybe 4, 5 more chapters, and then I'm done with this. And perhaps then I can concentrate of the other story I've been working on for 2 and a half years, and which is only two thirds complete. _Emmett and I_ has been an amazing distraction, but it's probably just as well that I'll soon be forced to return to my mangum opus. Enjoy it while it lasts. **

Maybe not the crashing of cymbals, and the bolts of lightning that I'd imagined, the Volturi announced themselves, nonetheless.

And a week in advance of their arrival, to give us time to prepare, how incredibly magnanimous of them.

Bizarrely, it was just a letter. Written on thick creamy paper (expensive, no doubt) and not a sheet of stretched out human skin, and written in the most exquisite calligraphic hand.

And no, before you ask, not in blood. Rather, black ink.

The reason it caused any real sort of reaction was because it was the first letter that had been delivered to the Cullen household since their arrival; they'd yet to receive a bill, or a bank statement, or even junk mail, it transpired.

The envelope was addressed to 'Dr. Carlisle Cullen, PhD, MD, DCh' which seemed to me an endless list of pointless letters indicating only that Carlisle was as brilliant a doctor as I'd thought before, if not better.

He read it out for us, of course, in his slow reassuring manner. It ran thus,

"_Dearest Carlisle, deepest and fondest greetings from your Italian kin. We wish only the happiest for Mrs. Cullen, Jasper, Alice, Edward, Isabella and sweet Renesmee. As to your other son, we officially represent our displeasure at his continuing acquaintance with the mortal commonly known as Miss Katherine Evania Taylor. To this end, and to assure a rapid resolution to this situation that is in accordance with our wishes, the Volturi Guard have made plans to present themselves to you, in the presence of your beloved family, and the aforementioned mortal girl, in the grounds of Whitby Abbey at ten o'clock, on the night of the 9__th__ August. Regards, Aro of Volterra'._

There had been complete silence as Carlisle read, but as soon as the word 'Volterra' was out of his mouth, everybody began to speak at once.

"Whitby Abbey?" Alice snorted, "Really? Why didn't he just stipulate Castle Dracula and be done with the theatrics?"

"He'll bring Caius and Marcus with him, obviously" Jasper predicted, and I could see the cogs of his mind whirring, going into army officer mode, "And Jane and Alec, undoubtedly. But Demitri and Felix? Maybe, he wouldn't want to be outnumbered."

"Demitri and Felix will come" Edward confirmed, on Alice's behalf, and they shared a secret smile, "And I believe we will all find the outcome satisfactory."

"What is it dad?" Renesmee demanded, bouncing up and down impatiently, "Dad, tell us!"

But Edward shook his head mysteriously at us all, and wandered away, leaving even Bella in the dark. Because of this, attention naturally turned to Alice.

"Alice" Esme coaxed, "You know that it's necessary for you to tell us all you can see. We need to keep Emmett and Kate safe, and you must play your part."

Alice's mischievous grin deepened, and her voice was almost as sweet as honey when she replied, "There's nothing that you need to know. Esme, Carlisle, Kate belongs with us, and she'll show the Volturi just how much, you'll see." She too flitted away, her wind chime laughter still floating on the air.

By default, the focus of conversation centred on me.

"You mustn't be afraid, Kate" Carlisle reassured me, "Edward and Alice seem convinced of an agreeable outcome, despite their reluctance to divulge information. I know that if you were in any real danger, they'd speak to us."

This was hardly reassuring at all.

I caught Jasper as he was about to follow Alice's example and leave.

"Jasper, which one of them ought I look out for?" I asked, knowing that I could trust in his combat experience more than anybody else. He shot a pensive look at Emmett. Emmett touched me gently on the arm, and then left too.

I'd never been alone with Jasper before, I realised. There'd always been somebody else there. Of course, I knew about his history. I knew that it was he, above all the others, that posed any physical threat to me. Still, I had no fear of him; I couldn't see any reason to.

"Erm, why do you ask, Kate?" he replied, the Southern accent in his voice warm and inviting. He walked towards the sofa, and I followed. I hadn't anticipated this being a 'discussion', I'd just wanted to know who to be on my guard against, in particular, but it seemed like it warranted a bit of a chat.

"Well, you know, the whole scary vampire thing. I just wanted to know whether any of them is more dangerous than the others" I answered, watching him watch me. It seemed like Jasper appraised everything, everyone, before making any remark.

"They're all dangerous to you, Kate. Any of them could kill you. At any time they felt like" he told me. Just as well I hadn't asked him to sugar coat the truth for me.

"What I meant to say" I clarified, "Is, for instance, any of them more liable to kill me, than the others?"

Jaspers mouth curved into a slow smile, and his eyes lit up. "You're very brave for a mortal, aren't you?"

I don't think he meant it offensively, yet I couldn't help but be a little affronted by his comment. "You don't have to be a vampire to be brave" I insisted, "There are soldiers out there giving their lives for their countries every day, and people who rush into burning buildings to save others, and-"

"I didn't mean it like that Kate" Jasper interrupted me, "I only meant that most people, even if they could reconcile themselves to our existence, and our lifestyle, would only be more fearful at the existence of the Volturi. But you, as usual, are a surprise."

I hoped I was a good surprise. I couldn't bear being any other sort for the Cullens, me and my stupid latent power.

"I'd rather know what I'm up against than go in there blind" I explained, "That, in itself, is a sort of weapon, don't you think?"

"I couldn't agree more" Jasper confirmed, "It's probably the best weapon in any arsenal."

"So?" I demanded, "Are you going to tell me or not?"

Jasper sighed, and counted them off on his fingers, "Aro, he'll touch you, and know every thought you've ever had, Marcus'll be able to tell the strength of the relationship between us all, and Caius, well, I don't think he technically has a power, but I'd classify his tendency towards extreme cruelty the same way I'd count Carlisle's compassion."

"And the others?" I prompted. He'd mentioned others earlier, a woman, and an Alex, or something like that.

"Felix and Demetri?" Jasper continued, "Well, you've already met Demetri, haven't you? His power was finding you, he'll only be there for numbers, he's played his part. Felix is the Volturi's equivalent of Emmett, but I shouldn't worry about him; Emmett can take him."

He stopped, and looked at me expectantly. "Helpful?"

I frowned, puzzled.

"You mentioned others earlier, Jasper" I insisted, too dense to realise that he was keeping them from me purposely, "Alex?"

"Alec" he corrected me automatically, "His name is Alec. His power is to remove all feeling, to take away sensation. The opposite of his sister."

He stopped again, looking distinctly uneasy.

"Yes, his sister?" I demanded, "What does she do?"

"Pain."

I didn't comprehend his monosyllabic response.

"Pain?" I repeated, puzzled, "What do you mean, pain?"

"I mean what I said" he replied shortly, "She causes unintelligible pain. That is all she is good for. Do not cross her, Kate." The tone of his voice was scarier than anything I'd ever heard. He could not have been more serious.

"I understand. Do not cross Jane" I repeated, and Jasper nodded as though he was a schoolteacher and I was a pupil who'd correctly recited a multiplication table.

"She doesn't need to worry about Jane" Edward told Jasper, making me jump in fright.

"Don't do that!" I shrieked, recovering from my miniature heart attack.

Edward's face contorted in pain; even grimacing he was extraordinarily pretty.

I didn't apologise, it was his own stupid fault for scaring me half to death.

"You've been practising" Edward accused, looking me over reproachfully, "It's more painful now, you'll be able to incapacitate me soon."

"Our very own Jane" Alice chirped, almost happily, having also appeared from thin air.

"Interesting" Carlisle theorized, and soon the entire Cullen family had reassembled in the living room, and what had been a private lesson on the Volturi guard, now turned into a family discussion on the evolution of my power.

"I'd always considered Kate's power defensive" Carlisle continued, gesturing towards Bella, "Like Bella's shield. But, it may work just as well offensively. Not that I'd ever ask you to do that Kate, but it's a thought."

Esme kissed my cheek lightly, and calmed me. "I know it must all seem so overwhelmingly frightening right now, but it'll all resolve itself perfectly neatly, don't you worry about that."

About a billion different thoughts whirled around inside my head. Firstly, there was the fact that Edward's accusation was entirely unfair; since I'd vowed not to use my gift, I hadn't. It was hardly my fault that it was getting stronger, I hadn't asked for it in the first place, and I certainly wasn't 'exercising' it. Then, of course, the fact that in one week's time, I'd be coming face to face, for the first time, with vampires of the traditional kind. The kind that routinely consumed human blood, and who were not impressed by my knowing their secret. And then another thought hit me.

"After the Volturi's visit?" I enquired, looking between Edward and Alice, who were most likely to know the answer, "Will it be then? Me, turning into a vampire, I mean?"

Alice looked to Emmett. Emmett looked to Carlisle. Carlisle looked to Edward. Edward looked to Bella. Bella looked to Renesmee. Renesmee looked to Esme. Everyone looked at everyone else. Except no one looked at me.

"What?" I demanded, spinning around to look at them all, with their infuriatingly knowing smiles plastered all over their faces. "What do you all know?"

"We don't know anything, babe" Emmett lied, the million watt grin on his face more than enough proof that they all knew something that I didn't.

I protested all the way back to my own house, driving in Carlisle's Mercedes, to avoid any moaning on the part of Nick. He still didn't like the Porsche. At least, he didn't like me being driven around in the Porsche by Emmett. He actually liked the Porsche a lot.

"I don't want you to think about it anymore" Emmett ordered, as I put my key in the front door. "Promise me that much, Katie."

"No fair" I pouted, batting my eyelashes, and hoping the intense love that we shared would encourage him to divulge the little (or not little, it seemed) secret.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow morning" he said firmly, staying on the doorstep as I entered the house. "I love you."

And with that, he was back in the Mercedes, and I was left standing in the hallway, looking utterly bemused, and wondering what on earth it was that was so worthy of being kept under wraps.


	24. TwentyFourth

**A/N: Okay, well this chapter was intended to originally be about 3 paragraphs at the start of the chapter with the Volturi. However, it seems to have escalated beyond all control (story of my life) into its very own chapter, which essentially means you've gotten a whole extra chapter out of me, which I didn't really mean to write. But then, when I thought about it, Kate has had heartfelt chats with Alice, Renesmee, Jasper and Edward, but not Bella. So I figured it was her turn. I will definitely, actually go and write the chapter that I meant to, in a little while (It is 1.49 in the morning, I'm not doing it right now, I have a ten am lecture) So, yes, bear with me, I was always pretty good at digression. **

"Really Kate" Nick scolded, "You've been in a foul mood all week, this is just getting silly now."

I paid very little attention to him as I spread peanut butter on my wholemeal toast.

"I know that Emmett has been busy, but you shouldn't turn into one of those pitiable girls who can't live without their boyfriends, I thought you were better than that" he continued his little tirade about my moping, but I wasn't listening.

He sighed heavily, and was leaving the kitchen with his coffee, when my head suddenly popped up, and I asked unexpectedly, "Do you know what the weather forecast is for today?"

Nick's face was puzzled to say the least, but he seemed grateful that I was back amongst the land of the living (oh, the irony) for the time being.

"Thinking of a trip?" he enquired, tapping into his Blackberry. "Overcast all day, sorry."

Perfect vampire weather, I noted.

"Nick?" I said, stopping him, once more, from getting on with his day. "You and mom do know that I love you both, don't you?"

His expression was absolutely priceless.

"Of course we do, you silly girl" he managed to spit out in the end, "But what on earth prompted that?"

Genuine answer: any day now, it was quite likely that I was going to become an immortal vampire and not be fit for human company for a while. Oh, and not see either of them ever again.

My reply to my step dad was slightly less fantastical, "I just never tell you, that's all."

"You don't need to" he reassured me, "We know."

And with that, he left for his study, leaving me pondering how I could while away the rest of the day, until nine o'clock, which was the time that I was going over to the Cullen's for a 'sleepover with Alice.'

I supposed that I could write letters to my mom and Nick, making up some story about eloping with Las Vegas with Emmett, or about running off to join the circus, or something equally as unlikely. I still had absolutely no idea about what was going to happen after tonight, even though it seemed like Alice and Edward had a pretty clear idea. Neither of them were telling. Anything.

A sharp tapping on the kitchen door dragged me out of my reverie once more. I picked my mug of tea up, and traipsed over to the back door, puzzled as to who it could be.

It was Bella.

She was stood, more beautiful than ever, even despite the murky sky and threat of rain, on the back doorstep of my house, her expression as unreadable as always.

"Good morning, Kate" she greeted me kindly, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "May I come in?"

I stepped back awkwardly (my foot, though practically healed, was a little sore from lack of use) and made way for her to enter.

"I'm not intruding?" she questioned taking a seat at the breakfast bar, and looking around the room.

"Not at all" I replied, hesitant as to whether I should ask the reason for her visit. I kept quiet for the moment; the Cullens had a way of revealing all when it was important.

"Did Alice send you?" I asked, when she'd sat silently, just looking, for a few more moments.

"No" she answered softly, folding her hands delicately in her lap. "Kate, if I were to say 'Phoebe Serenity' to you, what would you think?"

I probably visibly blanched.

Phoebe Serenity was what I'd pretty much always wanted to call any daughter of mine. Since meeting Emmett, I had definitely settled on the name Phoebe Serenity Cullen. It had such a lyrical ring to it.

"I would say, you've been talking to Edward" I replied, a feeling of apprehension beginning to creep up on me.

Bella smiled sympathetically at me, and held her hands out to me. I took them, barely registering their temperature.

"Explaining Renesmee's conception would be complicated, and a very long story" Bella informed me, her now golden eyes sad. "All I can tell you is that there will never be a Phoebe Serenity. Not for you and Emmett. I'm sorry Kate."

I didn't quite understand.

"What do you mean, 'there will never be'?" I quizzed her, my voice trembling slightly.

"Renesmee is a very special child. She's a product of Edward's self-control, mostly. A self-control that Emmett does not possess. For you to even contemplate it, before your transformation, it would be suicide" she explained.

I say 'explained', yet I was becoming more and more confused with every word she spoke.

"You think about her a lot" Bella told me, and now she was watching me intently. She was trying to look like she wasn't, but she was.

I supposed that what she said was true. I had a picture in my head of another Renesmee, I guess. Another little angel child, with hair dark like mine and Emmett's, and rosy cheeks and porcelain hands.

"You mean that vampires can't have children?" I asked her, Phoebe vanishing like a puff of smoke in the wind. "But Renesmee? How-?"

"She was conceived whilst I was still human" Bella said gently, "Before I was a vampire."

I knew why Emmett and I hadn't slept together yet, and it was not for lack of wanting to. It was because, as any sane person could see, it would be physically impossible, with him being so much bigger than me, so much stronger than me.

I think the shock must have shown through on my face, because Bella touched my hand again, and added, "And yes, it hurt, and yes, it was a silly thing for us to do. But I don't regret it. Not for one bit. But it's something that Emmett won't be able to do, I'm so sorry. He's just too-"

She cut off, searching for the right word.

"Too much like Emmett?" I supplied helpfully, and she laughed very slightly.

"Yes. Too much like Emmett" she echoed me, her face happier.

"If we were to-" I started, looking at the floor. Very childishly, I couldn't say the words 'have sex' to Bella's face, she intimidated me very slightly. I let her infer my meaning from the squeamish pause. "I could, well, I could stop him before he hurt me, couldn't I?" The thought had only just occurred to me, and it let little Phoebe dance in front of me again for a few more seconds.

"But you wouldn't, would you?" Bella reasoned, twisting the wedding band on her finger around and around.

"No" I admitted quietly, "No, I don't think I would."

Phoebe vanished once and for all.

"I really am very sorry Katie" Bella reiterated, "Edward thought you'd rather hear it from me, but I really didn't want to do it. I know what Renesmee means to me, and to have to tell someone who is almost my sister that she can't have her own Renesmee, well, it's a horrible thing to have to do."

Her talking about it was not making it better, which she seemed to realise, as she stopped speaking pretty sharpish.

"I have to go now" she told me, getting up fluidly, and heading for the back door, "We have great plans to set in motion."

I perked up greatly at this.

"What sort of plans?" I demanded, "Have you spoken to Edward or Alice? Bella, tell me, please!"

Bella forced her lips into a straight line, and only opened her mouth again when I stopped trying to pester information out of her.

"You're getting stronger" she informed me, sort of warily. "And anyway, I have strict instructions not to succumb to questioning, so I can't tell you. Sorry, Kate."

So, I guessed, everyone knew except me.

"I don't like you guys" I sulked, opening the door for her.

"No" Bella laughed back at me, "You love us!"

She turned to leave, and I turned around, surprisingly happy considering I'd just been informed that I would never have children.

"Kate?" Bella called out, having stopped halfway down the path through my garden.

"Yes?" I called back, turning around to face her again, to find her back on the doorstep.

"You didn't ask me a really obvious question" she told me, surprise showing through in her eyes.

I racked my brains for a few seconds, wondering what this obvious question could be. Evidently, not so obvious.

"I give up" I conceded, shrugging my shoulders, "What should I have asked you?"

"Well, did it never occur to you to ask why you and Emmett couldn't just transform a child into a vampire, once you've finished the newborn stage?"

I think I may have recoiled slightly; certainly there was a look of horror on my face.

"Of course I never thought to ask that!" I exclaimed, "How could anybody think of doing that to a poor defenceless little kid?"

The melange of emotions muddled up in Bella's face was quite unbelievable. "But" she continued, "You do realise, that's precisely what we're going to do to you?"

But it wasn't really. I had made this choice of my own accord. Well, okay, it was also on account of my gift, to a certain extent, but I'd have done it to be with Emmett for all eternity anyway. There was no way I could contemplate doing it to a child, who didn't know what was happening to them, just so Emmett and I could play the doting parents. For all I knew, he might not even want children.

"It couldn't be done, at any rate" Bella said, holding her hand out to feel the light rain that had started to drizzle. "What with the Immortal Children and all. No, the Volturi would not like us one bit then."

And leaving me with this massive cliff hanger she glided off, breaking into a run (I only saw it because I knew it was about to happen) just before she was quite out of my sight.

So, no Phoebe Serenity Cullen.

But I still had Emmett, and he was all that I'd ever need.

Somehow, feeling more prepared than I ever had been for the impending meeting with the Volturi, I ascended the stairs to go and pack some clothes into an overnight bag. I figured that, whatever happened tonight, I was going to need them.

All the beautiful things that Alice had bought me were still in the Cullens' spare bedroom. It would have been supremely likely that my parents would have noticed an abundance of designer garments lying around my bedroom, so they'd stayed with her for safe-keeping.

It left very little for me to pack; in the end I had some underwear, a couple of t-shirts, some pyjamas, jeans, a hoodie, and my toothbrush. And the Armani dress and flats that had been Emmett's present to me (via Alice) a few weeks back. I couldn't leave that behind.

Not that I knew whether I was actually staying at the Cullens' tonight, or whether the Volturi would just kill me (although, this seemed quite unlikely now, what with Edward and Alice grinning all over the place, and 'great plans being set in motion'.)

It seemed like the appropriate thing to do though, and I had nothing much else to do anyway. Somehow, reading 'A Streetcar named Desire' which was the set holiday work for my English A-Level did not seem particularly productive, mostly because sitting my A-Levels just wasn't going to happen.

And then, joy of joys, the waiting game again. I'd waited to meet Emmett again, after that chance encounter at the hospital, I'd waited for Demetri, I'd waited for Alice to know when the Volturi were going to come, I'd waited for Emmett whilst he went off to the Carpathian mountains to fight with grizzly (no, sorry, brown, my bad) bears. And now I was waiting for the Volturi again. Only this time, the real Volturi. The Volturi who, hopefully, were going to give me their Italian blessing, and let me join the ranks of the immortal undead. The Volturi who, hopefully, would leave us be soon, so that Emmett and I could start out lives together, for real.

Nine o' clock literally could not come fast enough.


	25. TwentyFifth

**A/N: This has so NOT been sitting in my laptop for actual months. At all. The ridiculous thing is that you're in for a double update tonight (triple, if you happen to read Seventh Year) and TwentySix was actually finished weeks ago. All I can do is apologise profusely. **

**Disclaimer: They'd never make a movie out of mine, would they?**

I knew that the Cullens operated like clockwork, so it was no great surprise to me when Alice appeared at nine o' clock, precisely to the second, and tapped brightly on the front door. A feeling of foreboding that had been fermenting in my stomach all day increased exponentially, but I still managed to look my mom and Nick in the eye, smile at them, and chime at them that I wouldn't be home too late the next day. They both hugged me, before turning their attention back to a rerun of Grey's Anatomy. I don't know what I'd expected; tears, and wailing, and begging me not to leave were not precisely on the agenda, as they were completely oblivious to the fact that in one hours time, our local Abbey would be playing host to the Volturi, and that I would be there to greet them.

Emmett was waiting in the Jeep with Jasper, I could see Esme and Carlisle sat in the front of the Mercedes, with Bella, Nessie and Edward presumably squashed in the back. I clambered into the Jeep much less gracefully than Alice, and when all three of them had fussed sufficiently over my in-car safety, the two cars crept away sedately, neither Carlisle nor Emmett flooring the accelerator on either car until realistically out of earshot of my parents.

A light rain splattered the windshield, the frustrating sort which doesn't really necessitate the use of wipers, but which builds up annoyingly slowly.

"I have never known anyone to feel so irritated by raindrops, Kate" Jasper chuckled, simultaneously soothing my frazzled nerves. I shot a weakly grateful smile at him from the front seat, then returned my gaze squarely in front of me.

It stayed that way for the next fifteen minutes, until the Jeep rolled to a standstill in front of the Abbey car park. Despite usually being open to the public, it was completely deserted, primarily on account of it being after nine at night, and also because of the building work that was being done on it.

Entrance, however, was unproblematic, as Carlisle pulled an ornate looking key from his trouser pocket, and slid it into the equally decorative lock that adorned the great wooden doors. They opened soundlessly, a marvellous feat for a building so ancient, and he disappeared inside, to disable some of the more modern features of the English heritage property; security. He was gone barely a minute, before he opened the doors wider, and beckoned us in.

Renesmee skipped through the doors first, seemingly unfazed by the events that were about to unfold.

Edward indicated for Emmett and I to follow her, which we did, his hand clutched tightly in mine, until it seemed almost warm.

Alice and Jasper entered next, the look of concentration etched into both their faces easy to read; both looking out for impending signs of danger.

Esme's determined face then met the interior of the Abbey, before Edward and Bella brought up the rear, closing the door gently behind them.

Entry by door was not strictly necessary, of course, the windows of the Abbey, and its roof were no more, it was little more than a ruin.

The cliché would have been complete if only there had been a clear sky and a full moon, instead of the patchy clouds that loitered in the sky, and produced such pathetic drizzle.

The terrifying screech of an owl would probably have been appropriate too.

"Why are we here so early?" Nessie grumbled, exploring the ruins in her immediate vicinity with little interest.

"To get ourselves in the right frame of mind" her mother answered, keeping her eyes trained on her daughter.

"And one is never late to an appointment with the Volturi" Edward continued, his eyes scanning the ruined Abbey. "Yes, Jasper" he concurred, "It is a good open space, but that does rather leave the question of where to put Kate, should the need arise."

"The need shan't arise, Edward" Alice predicted, indicating us with a deft flick of her head, "You'll just worry them unnecessarily."

"Of course, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Edward apologised hastily, touching Emmett on the shoulder. "Less than an hour, and it'll all be over."

The waiting part was excruciating. You'd have thought that I'd have gotten used to it by then, but my impatience was almost as great as when I'd been waiting for Emmett to return to me.

I mostly passed the time with Nessie, who was not at all preoccupied by the Volturi's summons. Instead, she was a private cinema to me, showing me all the places she'd visited, the things that had happened in her life.

I loved her almost as much as I loved Emmett, during those moments in the Abbey.

An entirely different type of love, the protective sort, but it reminded me that I'd never look at a beautiful child like her and call her my own.

No matter though, I was willing to sacrifice absolutely anything for Emmett.

"Selfless, to a fault" Edward remarked, watching over his daughter and I, as a shepherd watches over his flock.

He was wrong, it was far from selflessness.

It was quite possibly the absolute opposite; I would never be willing to relinquish Emmett to any other woman, I wanted him to love only me.

Before Edward could comment on this latest thought of mine, Jasper stood up from his position beside Alice, and announced, "They're here."

Unlike us, who had used the door for entry, the Volturi appeared, one by one, in the empty windows of the desolate Abbey.

"Aro" Carlisle greeted the vampire I knew to be the true leader, from the Cullens' stories, and Nessie's memories, "A pleasure, my old friend."

"The pleasure is all mine" Aro returned, a genuine warmth in his voice, "And thank you for so kindly having us all."

He gestured around him, to his phenomenally frightening looking companions. None of them gave any greeting, but Aro continued to greet each and every member of the Cullen clan, fawning particularly on Renesmee, whom he referred to as 'that miracle of beauty and wonder.' He doted on her almost like a grandfather treats a favourite grandchild, and she beamed and giggled with him until Caius coughed audibly,

"This was not a social visit, Aro" he reminded his companion, his voice every bit as hard as the stones that formed the ruin we stood in.

"There is no reason why I shouldn't rejoice in the company of old friends long missed" Aro defended himself, gently patting Nessie on the head, and then stepping back. "But, if Caius insists-"

Here, he stopped, and I felt his gaze turn to me, and then the gazes of the whole Volturi guard, and then too the eyes of all the Cullens, until I could barely stand the attention.

"Katherine?" Despite the questioning tone in Aro's voice, he knew precisely who I was, not least because Demetri was with him, and we'd already met.

"Yes, I'm Katherine" I replied, determined to keep the fear that was in my heart out of my voice.

"Explain to me, my child" he demanded, the silky smooth note in his voice like a good quality Rioja, "What precisely you know about our kind?"

I hesitated for quite a few seconds, unsure of where to begin, or what to say, before Emmett nudged me gently.

"Well, sir-" I began, only to be cut off almost immediately by Aro.

"No, no, child, this will not do at all. I am not 'sir', not to a pretty young thing such as yourself. Please, just Aro."

"Well," I repeated, omitting his name, since I thought it'd probably leave a nasty taste in my mouth, "All of you are vampires, except Renesmee, she's half. The Cullens only hunt animals, whilst I'm led to believe that you follow a more traditional diet. Carlisle is about four centuries old, Jasper the next oldest, everybody else is much younger. You all live in Italy, and your main purpose is to ensure that nobody discovers the existence of vampires."

I stopped here, not sure what else I needed to say.

"Too much" Caius finally rasped, "She knows too much."

Aro touched the other elder, the one I knew to be Marcus, who had yet to speak. "Interesting" he murmured, "My dear, they would fight to the death for you. Which is a terrible shame, it is never particularly nice to have to annihilate friends on account of a human."

And then everything was a blur, as Emmett flew from beside me, pushing me back into Bella's embrace, where I knew my protection would be at its most complete. Jasper took up a defensive position, only to be provoked into combat by Felix, whilst my idiotic love rushed at Aro, as though he had a chance of hurting him.

"Jane."

Aro's lyrical voice had barely said the name before the dainty girl focused her attention on Emmett, who crumpled into a writhing mass on the floor.

I didn't understand, my brain wouldn't function properly, until, impossibly, I had torn myself out of Bella's vice-like grip and flung myself across the flag stoned floor of the ruins. "STOP!" My shriek was bloodcurdling, almost inhuman, and it certainly stopped Jane.

"Jane?" Aro's voice, this time, was not puzzled exactly, it was more dissatisfied.

Emmett, who had stopped writhing, was now getting back to his feet, albeit shakily, with one arm around me.

"I can't." The frustration in Jane's voice was palpable, as though she were liable to have a temper tantrum at any second.

"Don't be ridiculous" Caius snapped, anger etched into his very skin.

Edward advanced upon Aro, with no sign of trepidation, and held a hand out to him. The transference of information was almost as swift as Aro's realisation of the situation. He took a few amazed steps backwards before declaring, "Impossible. That level of power, and control? As a mortal? Simply impossible."

He made a sign at Jane, and turned towards me.

There was the slightest moment of the most intense pain imaginable, before my reflexes kicked in, and I screamed out, "Don't!"

Immediately, the pain loosened its grip on me, until it had entirely subsided, so that I could finally register the look of utter astonishment on Aro's face. Marcus, too, had an expression of disbelief. Caius, to nobody's surprise, continued to look surly.

"Katherine, I crave your forgiveness." There was a simpering quality in Aro's voice which disarmed me, and he held his arms out.

I stood, partially paralysed, simply staring at him, until Nessie nodded her head in his direction. I took a few uncertain steps towards him, until his arms embraced me, and his softly spoken words tickled my ear. "Should you ever need a home, my child, you are always welcome at my side."

The low rumbling from Emmett's chest confirmed what I already knew; Aro's whispering has been pointless, everyone could hear him anyway.

Letting me go, he turned to address Carlisle, "You'll see to it that it is taken care of with considerable haste my friend?"

"The plans are already in place" Carlisle replied sincerely, looking to Alice, who smiled cryptically.

"Then there is no longer any problem." Marcus' voice surprised me, it was the first time he'd spoken. Aro's voice was full of rhetoric, Caius' malice. But Marcus' was more like the deep rumbling of a thunderstorm, and oddly, vaguely comforting. It reminded me of the emotion people tend to experience when it's raining cats and dogs outside, and they're inside, tucked up under a blanket watching Friends reruns with tea and toast. It made me wish that he'd spoken more during our brief encounter.

"Come along, Kate" Esme chimed, bringing me back to my senses, "Time to go home."

The Volturi were leaving as they had entered, disappearing into the night sky. Alec threw me a reproachful glance, on his sister's behalf.

"You reacted faster in my vision" Alice informed me crossly, as we trooped back to the car, "You never should have had to feel that."

I didn't really mind that I had, I mused to myself, as the engine started. If Emmett had felt it, I needed to as well, because I wanted to share everything with him; the greatest joy, and even the most excruciating pain.


	26. TwentySixth

**A/N: Promise that my updating for the night is done. I remember now why I don't write so much these day, it makes me tired! I feel so much older now than when I started writing this, it's unreal. But please just enjoy this chapter, which hopefully is going to begin the process of winding down a story that I've absolutely loved writing. I'm guessing somewhere in the vicinity of 5 chapters, and then Emmett and Kate are going to be disappearing into the sunset...**

**Disclaimer: Same as before. Not mine, darn. **

"Would you like me to make you something to eat, Kate?" Edward asked, as Emmett fussed over me, and scolded me from what he called 'taking a bullet' for him.

"All I'm saying" he reprimanded, sitting me down on the sofa and stroking my hair, "Is that you're human, and fragile, and precious, and what you did back there was real stupid."

"Almost as stupid" I returned archly, "As thinking there was a hope in hell that you'd be able to take Aro out. And no thanks Edward; I ate before you guys collected me."

Edward protested weakly, about my having very recently been subjected to torture.

My thought, "Yeah, for all of a quarter of a millisecond" deterred him from pressing the matter any further and he wandered off to find Renesmee.

It was practically midnight before I was left to any sort of peace, after Edward came Esme to check that I was quite alright after meeting the Volturi, and then Carlisle to ensure that Jane had not caused me any physical harm, and all the others, one by one, each as difficult as the last to convince that all I needed was Emmett.

When Alice, the last to flit away having satisfied herself that I was not suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome, was gone, I was just about ready to curl up on the sofa put my head in Emmett's lap, and go to sleep.

"Hold fire, for two minutes" he pleaded, on seeing my eyes droop sleepily for the fiftieth time in about a minute. He reached into his trouser pocket, and tantalisingly slowly drew his hand out and something clutched within it. I was not quite so tired now that we were playing this game, and even less so, when on placing the object on the coffee table it was revealed to be a jewellery box.

My heart audibly skipped a beat, which made Emmett chuckle, before he nudged me gently with his shoulder. "Well, go on then, don't you want to open it?" he coaxed.

I needed very little persuasion. I pounced eagerly on the box, snatching it up in a rather unladylike manner. I held it close to my face in my left hand, before raising my right hand, and sliding my fingers over the velvet case.

It made that satisfying 'snap' that jewellery boxes commonly do, opening to reveal its treasure within.

A car key.

I expelled my breath hastily, then turned to face Emmett.

"I don't think I quite understand" I told him, the disappointment in my voice ringing clearly. The oblivious look on his face made me realise that he was just like any other man; utterly clueless when it came to handing jewellery boxes to women who love them. It was probably wrong of me to expect a ring, I know, but a tiny part of me was furious that he could be so utterly stupid.

"Come and see" he urged, tugging me from the sofa, towards the garage.

"Can't I look in the morning? I'm really tired, and I'd rather just go to bed."

He decidedly ignored me, and got bored of tugging, so he simply threw me over his shoulder and strolled into the garage. He let me down before switching the light on.

Amongst the now familiar cars stood an object covered over with a dust sheet, as was usual for Jasper's bike.

"Go ahead" Emmett encouraged, leading me towards it. A little thrill went through me. Okay, so maybe he hadn't proposed. Maybe I didn't have a diamond ring on my left hand. But he had, apparently, bought me a car. Which, when you think about it, is a pretty big commitment. Almost as good as a proposal.

I whipped the dust sheet off with a flourish, and gazed, open mouthed at the Aston Martin DB9 which lay beneath it. I gurgled ineffectually at Emmett, who simply beamed at me.

"Mine?" I finally managed to articulate, pointing at myself for good measure.

"Everyone else seems to like their cars just fine, so I guess, yeah, it must be yours" Emmett teased, as I flung my arms around him, and kissed him as gratefully as I could.

"Can I get in?" I begged, doing my best puppy dog impression. Emmett tossed me the jewellery box I'd neglected to bring with me, and I was just putting the key in the door closest to me, when Emmett informed me, "It's an American drive, Katie."

Somewhat perplexed, I switched to the other door, unlocking it, then grasped the door handle to open it tightly, as though the car were made of smoke, which might disappear at any second. Once I was satisfied that it was real, I pulled the door open gently, and eased myself inside. Emmett was already sat in the passenger seat, having been in less awe over it than me, and therefore having taken only a fraction of a second to open his door and sit down.

I put my hands on the steering wheel, then turned to face Emmett. "I don't have my license yet, you know" I told him, not sure that, even if I had passed my test, I'd be able to handle a car like this. I was learning on a Polo with a 1.2 litre engine capacity, and whilst I wasn't exactly sure of the DB9's engine capacity, I knew it'd be a darn sight higher than 1.2 litres.

"Don't worry about that now" Emmett persuaded me, "Right now, I'd be going to thank Edward and Bells, if I were you."

"Thank Edward and Bella?" I echoed confusedly.

Emmett nodded his approval, adding, "I think they're in Nessie's room at the moment."

He looked at the door, as though he expected me to trot off to Renesmee's room at that very second.

"Hang on" I said, "The car? I thought that was you?"

Emmett laughed, his most intoxicating laugh before he replied sweetly, "Oh no, the car is all Edward and Bella." He paused, and threw me an innocent grin, before continuing, "Their engagement present."

"Their _what _present?" I almost spat, catching myself just in time.

The innocent look intensified as Emmett opened the glove compartment. "Oh, did I forget to mention?" he pondered, retrieving another box. "Katherine Evania Taylor, I'd quite like it if you'd afford me the honour of your hand in marriage."

And he'd opened the box, and slipped the ring on my finger before I'd had a chance to respond. Looking down at the platinum band on which sat the most beautifully cut emerald I'd ever seen, surrounded by a guard of diamonds, I burst out indignantly, "I haven't said yes yet!"

Of course, that was the only reply I'd give, but I was just so overwhelmed I couldn't find anything more sensible to say.

And then, a little pixie face appeared at the window, and motioned for me to wind it down. I had to turn the engine on, as the windows opened and closed electronically, and when I had, all Alice did was thrust a handkerchief embroidered with the initials 'K.C' into my hand and hint, "You'll need that in a minute, Mrs. Cullen."

I needed it then, her timing couldn't have been more perfect, as I burst into copious amounts of noisy tears.

"If you don't like me that much…" Emmett joked meanly, making as though to get out of the car. I grabbed his hand, and kissed him more deeply than I think I ever had.

"You do realise this is forever now?" I told him, holding onto him as if now he were the thing I was scared was made of smoke. "There's no getting rid of me now, not now this is on my finger?"

I waved my newly bejewelled hand in his face and he grinned massively. "Well, that was sort of the idea behind my asking you to marry me."

Unless you happen to have been proposed to by the man you love more than life itself with an impossibly beautiful ring, in your brand new Aston Martin DB9, you probably just don't know how happy I felt at that moment. Simply, it was indescribable. Even when hordes of Cullens appeared from seemingly out of nowhere to drag me from my new car to hug and kiss congratulate me.

"Thanks for the car" I sobbed at Edward, as Bella hugged me warmly (in emotion, if not in body.)

"For a little sister like you? No problem" he replied sincerely, as Alice whisked me from Bella's arms to hug me herself.

"Kate, honestly, I'd love to tell you things that I see in the future, but they're all just too lovely for words!"

It felt like I was being passed from pillar to post, everyone getting a hug and a kiss (even Jasper) and fussing more over me, until Esme exclaimed worriedly, "Goodness me, it's after one in the morning!"

All of a sudden, it was no longer cries of "Congratulations!" but choruses of "Kate should get some sleep!"

And Renesmee added, "We have an early start in the morning."

So I was chivvied up to Emmett's room, and Alice found my overnight bag, and gave me my pyjamas and toothbrush. "Not long now, Katie" she promised me, as she sat brushing my curls.

"I always wonder what you guys do whilst I'm up here dreaming my head off" I told her, after a companionable silence.

"Emmett watches you" she replied, "And Carlisle usually reads, I design, Nessie plays. We just do the same things we do during the day. Except tonight, of course."

She refused to tell me why, or how tonight would be different, but insisted on tucking me in like I was a little child.

"Alice, do tell!" I pleaded, as she hummed to herself.

"Shan't" she replied shortly, "It'll ruin the surprise."

I waggled my hand in her face, just before she turned the light out. "I rather think this is surprise enough for one day, don't you?" I questioned.

She merely smiled knowingly, and replied, "That was a surprise for yesterday, Kate. Tomorrow's a new day."

I was not quite ready to give up though.

"He proposed today Alice" I corrected her, "Hence, enough surprises for one day."

Alice simply clicked her tongue at me, and no doubt would have tried to change the topic of conversation skilfully, if Emmett hadn't walked through his door and asked playfully, "Are you causing trouble, Katie?"

I was decidedly NOT causing trouble, and would have told him so, if he hadn't jumped onto the king size bed and lain next to me. I decided to let it go; I didn't want to spend my first night as an engaged woman quarrelling, and certainly not with my fiancé. "Fiancé, it's a beautiful word, isn't it?" I mumbled sleepily, as Alice closed the door quietly behind her.

"I thought you were tired" Emmett accused, hugging me close to him, even with a duvet in the way.

"I just want to-"

Here, I yawned, and my eyes fluttered shut for a second.

"Yes?" he prompted cheekily, "You just want to what?"

"Want to-"

Another yawn interrupted me, as I closed my eyes again.

"Know what you lot are up to."

Despite their coherence, these words were actually uttered in my sleep. I rolled over, so that my cheek touched my palm, and Emmett chuckled.

"Actually, Katie, I think you just want to go to sleep."

And so, one chapter of my life ended, the chapter where I was Kate Taylor, and another one was about to begin, where I was to be Katie Cullen.


End file.
